Checking a supplier's eTIMS invoice before you claim it
How a Kenyan business can check a supplier's eTIMS invoice is genuine and claimable, using the QR code and iTax checkers, before it pays or claims VAT.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
An invoice can look perfect and still be worthless for tax. The logo is right, the amounts add up, VAT is shown at the correct rate. But if the supplier never transmitted it to KRA, or typed the wrong PIN for your business, or never declared the sale in its own VAT return, your claim for that input VAT can fail. You paid the VAT; you just cannot recover it.
The fix is to check supplier invoices before you rely on them, not when KRA queries your return. Most of the checks take a minute and need only a phone or the iTax website. This article sets out what to check, how, and how to build it into a monthly routine.
Why a supplier's invoice can let you down
KRA sets three conditions on an input tax claim. It says the claim requires a valid electronic tax invoice or customs entry that:
- shows the buyer's PIN, that is, your PIN;
- was transmitted to KRA;
- relates to a sale the seller has declared in its own VAT return.
Only the first of those is visible on the paper. The second and third depend on the supplier doing its part. That is why checking matters: you are confirming that the invoice exists on KRA's side, not just on yours. For the full list of conditions, see conditions for claiming input VAT.
Scanning the QR code and using the invoice checker
KRA says TIMS and eTIMS compliant invoices carry a QR code that can be verified with a QR reader, and that the invoice checker on the iTax page can also be used.
The QR code is the quickest check. Scan it with a phone and compare what comes back with the paper: supplier, date, amount and invoice number. If the scan fails or shows different details, stop and ask the supplier before you pay.
The iTax portal goes further. It offers public checkers to verify a PIN, a tax compliance or exemption certificate, an excise licence, a withholding certificate, a withholding agent, a control unit serial number and a control unit invoice number. The iTax portal is where those public checkers sit.
Your own PIN, and the supplier declaring the sale
Look for your own PIN on every invoice you intend to claim. KRA says input VAT can only be claimed on TIMS or eTIMS invoices that were transmitted to KRA with the buyer's PIN. An invoice made out without your PIN, or with a mistyped one, will not support the claim, however genuine it is. Ask the supplier to correct it; on their side, that means reversing and reissuing.
The supplier declaring the sale in its own return is the one condition you cannot see directly. What you can do is deal with suppliers whose compliance you have checked, and watch for invoices that never appear in KRA's records for your business. Checking a supplier's tax compliance explains how.
Manual invoices and invoices without the supplier's PIN
Two kinds of document fail outright:
- Manual invoices. KRA says input VAT cannot be claimed on manual invoices. A handwritten or self-printed invoice that never went through TIMS or eTIMS does not support a claim.
- Invoices without the supplier's PIN. KRA says an invoice without the supplier's PIN is not a valid tax invoice and is not allowed for tax deduction.
KRA also allows input VAT on validated customs import entries, with status settled or removed, and on supplies from non-resident digital suppliers who declared the buyer's PIN on a line item. Those follow their own checks. Expenses that fail the eTIMS tests are discussed in expenses at risk without eTIMS invoices.
Finding supplier invoices with no eTIMS reference in Achekam
Checking one invoice is easy. Making sure none slip through over a month is harder. Achekam helps with the second job: it lists a Kenyan business's supplier invoices that have no eTIMS reference recorded, so you can see which expenses risk being disallowed before the return is due.
That list works best if supplier invoices go into the books promptly. In Achekam, a business records supplier bills line by line with VAT. A bill without a purchase order waits for approval before it posts, which is a natural point to check the invoice. Bills can be paid in full or in parts from a chosen bank account.
Paper and scanned invoices can be uploaded to Financial Intake, where they become suggested postings. AI can suggest the entry, but only a person approves and posts it, so the person approving can also confirm the QR check was done.
One limit to know: supplier bills and purchase orders do not yet use a Kenyan business's own VAT rate. They offer 15% or 0% and default to 15%, so check the VAT on each Kenyan bill matches the supplier's invoice before posting.
A monthly purchases routine
- On receipt, scan the QR code and check it matches the invoice.
- Check your PIN is on the invoice and correct.
- Reject manual invoices and anything without the supplier's PIN; ask for an eTIMS invoice instead.
- Record the bill with its eTIMS reference.
- Before the VAT return, run the list of supplier invoices without an eTIMS reference and clear it.
- For new or large suppliers, use the iTax checkers on their PIN and compliance certificate.
Start with your ten biggest suppliers this month, then widen the net until every supplier invoice gets the same check.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
