Fixing an eTIMS invoice with the wrong buyer PIN
What a Kenyan seller should do when it left out or mistyped the buyer's PIN on an eTIMS invoice, the six-month limit, and how to record the fix.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
The call comes from a customer's finance team: "Your invoice has the wrong PIN on it. We can't claim it." Perhaps a digit was swapped, perhaps the PIN of a sister company was used, or perhaps the cashier left the field blank because the customer was in a hurry. Either way, the invoice is in eTIMS and cannot simply be edited.
KRA has a set procedure for this, and it is the only one that works. Done promptly, the customer still gets its claim, one month later than planned. Left too long, the window to correct it can close. This article explains the fix, the rules that shape it, and how to stop it happening again.
Why the buyer cannot claim against the wrong PIN
For a business customer, the PIN on your invoice is what links the purchase to them in KRA's records. KRA says input VAT can only be claimed on eTIMS invoices transmitted with the buyer's PIN. An invoice carrying the wrong PIN, or none, sits against someone else or no one, and the customer's claim fails. The conditions are set out in more detail in conditions for claiming input VAT.
Not every customer needs a PIN on the invoice. KRA says a buyer only has to give its PIN to the seller if the purchase is for business and will be claimed in its income tax or VAT return. A walk-in customer buying for personal use does not need to give one.
KRA's fix: reverse with a credit note and reissue
KRA says that when a seller captures the buyer's PIN wrongly or leaves it out, the seller should:
- issue a credit note to reverse the sale; and
- reissue the invoice with the correct PIN.
The buyer then claims the reissued invoice in the following month. That delay is the cost of the mistake, and the reason customers press for the fix quickly.
KRA explains this in its frequently asked questions on the VAT auto-populated return, which cover a wrong or missing buyer PIN and how the buyer then claims.
Do not issue a second invoice without the credit note. KRA says only one original invoice, credit note or debit note may be issued for a supply, so a fresh invoice on top of the old one would double the sale rather than correct it.
Using the same eTIMS solution that raised the original
KRA says each eTIMS solution has its own invoice number sequence, and a credit note can only be generated from the solution where the original invoice was raised. If the wrong invoice came from the eTIMS Client at your main branch, the credit note must come from there too, even if another branch or solution would be more convenient. Multi-site businesses should read eTIMS for businesses with several branches or tills for how to organise this.
The six-month limit on credit notes
The VAT Act, as published on Kenya Law in the version dated 1 July 2026, allows a credit note to be issued only within six months after the relevant tax invoice. The one exception is where the price is the subject of a commercial dispute in court, in which case the credit note can be issued within thirty days after the court's determination. KRA's guidance repeats the six-month rule.
So a wrong PIN discovered in the first week is a simple fix. One discovered seven months later, during the customer's audit, may not be fixable through a credit note at all. Encourage customers to check their invoices on receipt, and fix every reported error the same week.
Making the correction in Achekam
In Achekam, a credit note is issued from the invoice it corrects, in full or for chosen lines. It is posted to the ledger, can be downloaded as a PDF or e-mailed, and any leftover credit is held for the customer. For a wrong PIN, credit the whole invoice. The credit note uses the original invoice's date and tax codes, so the VAT reverses exactly as it was charged.
Then correct the customer's PIN on their record, and issue a new invoice. It takes the next number in your sequence and posts to the ledger as debtors, sales and output VAT. The customer's account now shows the original, the reversal and the replacement, with the balance unchanged.
Because Achekam's own eTIMS link is not live yet, both documents go through your eTIMS solution as well. For each one, record in Achekam the control-unit invoice number, internal data and receipt signature that eTIMS returned. A second person verifies them before the document counts as fiscalised. Keep both eTIMS numbers together, so anyone looking at the customer later can see why there are two invoices for one sale.
Capturing customer PINs correctly at set-up
Most wrong-PIN problems start when the customer is first set up. A few habits prevent them:
- Ask for the PIN in writing, from the customer's own documents, not over the phone.
- Check the format. KRA's guidelines describe a valid PIN as 11 characters: A for individuals and sole proprietors or P for companies, then 9 digits, then a letter.
- Verify it. The iTax portal offers a public PIN checker; use it for every new business customer.
- Watch for group companies. Sister companies have different PINs; make sure the invoice goes to the entity that is buying.
- Do not let tills leave the PIN blank when the customer says the purchase is for business.
Look at the last month's credit notes. If wrong PINs appear more than once, the problem is in how customers are set up, and that is where to fix it.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
