eTIMS Lite on eCitizen, USSD and the app
How small Kenyan traders and sole proprietors not registered for VAT issue electronic tax invoices with eTIMS Lite, on the web, by USSD or by app.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
A fundi who fixes plumbing, a tailor in a market stall, a woman selling cereals by the sack. None of them runs invoicing software, and most would laugh at the idea of installing some. Yet Kenyan law expects people in business to issue electronic tax invoices, and their business customers increasingly ask for one before they pay.
eTIMS Lite is KRA's answer for this group. It strips electronic invoicing down to what a small trader can do on a phone, including a basic phone with no data. This article explains who it is for, the three ways to use it, and how to keep your own records straight alongside it.
Who eTIMS Lite is meant for
KRA says eTIMS Lite is a set of simplified solutions for small and micro taxpayers who are not registered for VAT. For the USSD option in particular, KRA says it is for individuals and sole proprietors.
If you are registered for VAT, or you sell enough that you will need stock records and item codes on every invoice, eTIMS Lite is probably not your tool. Choosing the right eTIMS solution compares the alternatives.
Three ways in
KRA says eTIMS Lite is available:
- On the web, through eCitizen;
- By USSD, by dialling *222#;
- As an app, called "eTIMS Non VAT", on Play Store and Apple Store.
The three suit different traders. The web version works well for someone who invoices from a computer at the end of the day. The app suits a smartphone user invoicing on the spot. USSD works on any phone.
KRA's guide on how to onboard on eTIMS describes eTIMS Lite and the other solutions, and the steps to register before you issue your first invoice.
Invoicing by USSD with no internet
The USSD route has one big advantage. KRA says the online portal and eCitizen need a stable internet connection, while USSD invoicing on *222# needs no internet at all.
For a trader in a rural market, or anyone whose data bundle runs out mid-week, that matters. A sale can be invoiced on the spot from a basic phone, with no waiting until the trader is back in town with a connection.
A simple routine helps:
- Note the customer's name and, if they are a business that will claim the expense, their KRA PIN.
- Dial *222# and follow the eTIMS invoicing menu.
- Enter the item, quantity and price exactly as sold.
- Check the details before confirming.
- Keep the invoice reference the system gives you with your own record of the sale.
Simplified systems that do not keep stock records
Full eTIMS solutions track stock in and out. The smallest businesses are not expected to. The Tax Procedures (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2024 let the Commissioner require service providers, and persons not registered for VAT with annual turnover below twenty-five million shillings who use a simplified system, to use a system that does not keep stock records.
In plain terms: the Regulations allow the smallest non-VAT businesses to be placed on a system that does not track stock. If your turnover grows past that line, or you register for VAT, plan for a solution that does. Your own notes of what you buy and sell still matter, both for running the business and for your income tax return.
Why it matters beyond the invoice
Using eTIMS is tied to other things a small business may need. KRA says taxpayers who earn income other than employment income must now be registered on TIMS or eTIMS before KRA will issue a Tax Compliance Certificate. A trader who is asked for a compliance certificate, by a county buyer or a large customer for example, therefore needs eTIMS registration in place first. See getting a tax compliance certificate.
And if you are not registered for VAT, eTIMS still applies to you. The wider picture is explained in eTIMS when your business is not registered for VAT.
Keeping your books in step: recording the Lite invoice in Achekam
Some small businesses keep their books in Achekam while invoicing through eTIMS Lite. Achekam does not send invoices to eTIMS itself today, so the two need to be tied together.
The steps are straightforward. When automatic sending is not available, a Kenyan business can download the e-invoice file from Achekam, issue the invoice through eTIMS, and then record the identifiers eTIMS gave back. For eTIMS, those are the control-unit invoice number, internal data and receipt signature. A second person verifies them, and only then does the invoice count as fiscalised in Achekam.
For a one-person business, the "second person" can be a family member who helps with the books or your accountant. The point is that someone other than the person who keyed the invoice checks the numbers match.
Slips to avoid
- Invoicing only when asked. The Electronic Tax Invoice Regulations require each sale to be recorded and invoiced through the system, not just the sales where the customer asks for an invoice.
- Leaving out a business customer's PIN. Without it, they may not be able to claim the expense.
- Rounding quantities or prices. Enter what you actually sold.
- Not keeping the invoice reference. You will need it if a customer queries a sale or KRA asks.
- Using eTIMS Lite after registering for VAT. Once you are VAT-registered, move to a solution that suits a VAT-registered business.
Dial *222# once this week, even before you need it, so the menu is familiar the first time a customer asks you for an invoice.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
