Handout

List of Required Registrations

Country: Kenya

1. CONTEXT

Depending on the nature and type of business, all businesses are required to obtain different licenses and
registrations. Here’s a list of the major requirements for business entities, their issuing authority, and the
time within which a legal entity is required to complete the registration process.

2. REQUIRED REGISTRATIONS
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1. Personal 2. VAT 4. Single or 5. PAYE 6. NHIF and NSSF

Identification Unified
Number (PIN) Business
permit
Entities
providing
services or
Employers
Requirement All legal selling All legal
and Employers
for entities goods that fall entities
professionals
under the various
schedule of the
VAT act
Respective
Issuing Domestic Tax Domestic Tax Domestic Tax
County NHIF and NSSF
authority department department Department
Governments
If you supply
taxable goods and
services and you
qualify or wish to
register for VAT. To
qualify for
Before Within 30
registration you
Time of Along with commenceme days of Along with
must attain or
registration incorporation nt of employing incorporation
expect to attain a
operations staff
taxable turnover of
the value of which
is Kshs.5,000,000/=
or more in a period
of twelve months

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 Handout
List of Required Registrations
Country: Kenya

Note:
Some guidelines that will help you along the long journey of entrepreneurship are:
1. Be honest and meet timelines for completing the relevant paper work for your legal entity. For
example, obtaining PIN number, filing and paying VAT on time.
2. Be detail-oriented and read through all the paper work before you sign on the dotted line.
3. Be patient with authorities and do not be afraid.
4. Be curious, don’t give up, and ask questions.
5. Refer to experts for advice and for a final go-ahead.
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3. PIN REGISTRATION

A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is an 11 digit alphanumeric number, issued by the Kenya Revenue
Authority (KRA). The Law requires every person with chargeable income to obtain a PIN from the Domestic
Tax Department at no cost to the applicant. Your PIN will act as an identifier and enables the department
to link all transactions to a taxable entity. It is processed by the Domestic Tax Department. Personal
includes both an individual as well as an artificial person (i.e. company, club, trust etc)

Procedure

1. To obtain a PIN, an online application is filed on the KRA iTax website by the entity which
wishes to apply for PIN. To apply, log into iTax, go to KRA website www.kra.go.ke. On the
website, you will see the iTax portal banner. Click on it to access the iTax portal or go directly
go to https://itax.kra.go.ke

2. Registration for a new personal identification number (PIN) is done by clicking on the register
button under the New PIN Registration. If you already have a PIN it will prompt you to insert it.
(In the event you have a registered PIN before the iTax system was introduced, you still need
to register.)

3. Once you click on new registration, it will lead you to the e-registration page. Here you will be
prompted to indicate if you are registering for the first time as an individual or a company. You
will also be asked to indicate which mode of registration you would like to use – online or
manual by downloading a form that you can fill out manually and upload later. For
partnerships and companies, PIN applications are now being processed together with the
application for company registration from the Companies Registry.

4. Depending on your selection, the e-registration process will then require you to enter some
basic information including an email address which will be the primary mode of
communication with the tax authority.

5. You will also be required to include the tax obligation you are applying for i.e. income tax,
PAYE withholding, VAT etc as well as your source of income and tax agent details (if
applicable). Every option has additional request for information needed to support your

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 Handout
List of Required Registrations
Country: Kenya

application. For Kenyan individuals, the system is linked to the national ID database for ease of
gathering information.

6. Once all information has been inserted, you will be asked to submit the data.

7. You will promptly receive your PIN number with an option to download a PDF version of the
same. Ensure you give the correct email address when applying because this is where the
system will send the login credentials that will enable you to access the iTax system.

8. For those that already have a PIN all you will need to do is update your details on iTax after
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which you will receive a new PIN Certificate via email.

9. For Partnerships and Companies, unless KRA has already received confirmation of
incorporation of the company from the Companies Registry, you must submit your certificate
of incorporation and receive log-in details from KRA to apply for a PIN.

4. VAT REGISTRATION

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on consumer expenditure charged on supply of taxable goods or services
made or provided in Kenya that replaced Sales Tax registration in Kenya in 1990. VAT is also charged on
importation of taxable goods or services into Kenya.

PIN registration is a mandatory requirement for registration of VAT and can either be done concurrently
while registering for your PIN or by updating you tax obligation on your iTax account.

To qualify for registration, you must attain or expect to attain a taxable turnover of the value of which is
Ksh. 5,000,000 or more in a period of twelve months. The VAT act also provides for voluntary registration
where a taxpayer wishes to be registered despite the turnover falling below Ksh. 5,000,000.

Procedure

1. File an application for VAT registration through the KRA iTax portal https://itax.kra.go.kelike
the PIN application
2. Under the obligation tab click the VAT option and save. Finally click apply at the end of the
application to submit the application
3. Registration occurs once the application is submitted correctly and your Effective Date of
Registration (EDR) will be indicated against the VAT obligation on your taxpayer’s certificate.
4. Your EDR is the date from which you will be required to charge VAT on all taxable supplies.
5. Once registered you will be required by law to display your registration certificate in a clearly
visible place within your business premises in the event an inspection for compliance is
conducted.

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List of Required Registrations
Country: Kenya

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on consumer expenditure charged on supply of taxable goods or services
made or provided in Kenya that replaced Sales Tax registration in Kenya in 1990. VAT is also charged on
importation of taxable goods or services into Kenya.

PIN registration is a mandatory requirement for registration of VAT and can either be done concurrently
while registering for your PIN or by updating you tax obligation on your iTax account.

5. SINGLE & UNIFIED BUSINESS PERMITS

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The unified business permit (previously known as the single business permit) is a permit which
consolidates all the licenses required for running a business within respective County jurisdictions. It
includes a trade license, a fire clearance certificate, an advertising signage license, (health certificate and
food hygiene license for those in the food industry). All business entities are required to have a trade
license and a fire clearance certificate.

The various County Governments in Kenya are responsible for issuing business permits to the various
business types operating with the counties. The type of business permit issued depends on factors such as
the geographical location of the business, the number of employees, business types, activities of the
business among others.

Procedure

1. An application in the prescribed form must be submitted to the Council for the respective zonal
office, as per the respective County Municipal Act.

2. The application has to be accompanied by:

a) Certificate of incorporation (original + copy)

b) Identity card (Copy of one of the directors)

NB: The County Governments of Mombasa, Nyeri, and Kisumu support applications of licenses via the e-citizen
platform. Nairobi County allows for application via its County government online portal.

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List of Required Registrations
Country: Kenya

6. PAY AS YOU EARN TAX

PAYE tax is levied by the commissioner of Domestic Tax. It is levied on income earned by anyone
employed and is paid by the employer.

Procedure

All employers are required to register for PAYE within 30 days of hiring their first employee. Registration is
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done through the iTax platform https://itax.kra.go.ke under tax obligation

7. NSSF

Any person employed in Kenya and subject to the Employment Act must contribute to the National Social
Security Fund as per the new NSSF Act, 2013 of the Laws of Kenya. Under the act every employer must also
make contributions in respect to their employees.

The contribution rate is based on pensionable earnings up to a maximum of the Upper Earnings Limit
currently set at Ksh. 18,000. Employees and employers are not required to contribute on any amount of
pensionable earnings above the upper earnings limit.

For the purposes of the Act, the Upper Earning Limit (UEL) is KES. 18,000 while the Lower Earnings Limit
(LEL) is KES 6,000. The pension contribution will be 12% of the pensionable wages made up of two equal
portions of 6% from the employee and 6% from the employer subject to an upper limit of KES 2,160 for
employees earning above KES 18,000.

Procedure

1. To register your business/company, simply download the registration form from

www.nssf.or.ke/employers, fill it in and drop it off at your nearest NSSF office.

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List of Required Registrations
Country: Kenya

8. NHIF

NHIF registers all eligible members from both the formal and informal sector. Under the law, all
person’s resident in Kenya, over 18 years and whose total income is not less than Ksh. 1000 in any
given month is required to contribute to the Fund irrespective of whether their spouse is a contributor
or not.

Procedure
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1. For those in the formal sector, it is compulsory to be a member

2. Employers are expected to complete a physical application obtainable from any of the local
NHIF office or downloadable from the NHIF website www.nhif.or.ke or
3. Applications can also be submitted online at www.nhif.or.ke/healthinsurance/registeronline
4. To complete the form, employers will require the following documents and information
i. A copy of the company registration certificate and its number.
ii. A copy of the company PIN number
iii. Postal and Physical address
iv. Details about the company’s activities, operation and contact details
5. Once submitted it takes 14 days to issue the company code at no cost to the company.
6. To verify the application has been submitted correctly, a compliance visit will be conducted
within 14 days of filing the application.
7. Alternatively, you can visit your local Huduma Centre and apply for your NHIF card.

9. OPENING A BANK ACCOUNT

Opening a current account in a bank is crucial for obtaining licenses and registrations, and for the
day-to-day operations in a bank.

The procedure for opening a bank account is easily accessible from most bank websites. Note that the
procedure does not vary greatly from one bank to another. Feel free to go through the details provided in
the web site of the bank of your choice.

For guidance around which account works best for your business, please download the consumer’s guide
to banking from the Kenya Bankers Association –www.kba.co.ke

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