Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced that it has so far collected a total of Sh3.4 billion from its ongoing tax amnesty programme.

KRA Chief Manager Domestic Taxes Department Caroline Rotich says more than 17, 000 taxpayers have so far applied for tax amnesty and are expected to remit Sh10.5 billion.

Rotich was speaking during a media round table held in Nairobi on Tuesday.

“More than 17,000 taxpayers have applied for the tax amnesty which commenced on 1st September, 2023, and we expect the number to immensely grow as we continue to create awareness amongst taxpayers,” said Rotich.

KRA says it has identified 2.8 million taxpayers who have penalties and interests and qualify for the tax amnesty programme that allows the taxman to waive billions from the taxpayers.

According to Times Tower, qualified taxpayers will be eligible for automatic waiver of the penalties and interest related to that period and will not be needed to apply for amnesty.

KRA urged taxpayers who have pending objections and court cases to consider settling the matters out of court with the Authority to qualify for the tax amnesty programme option.

The authority says it has adopted an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) framework to resolve tax disputes outside courts and encouraged affected taxpayers to take advantage.

KRA has, through the Finance Act 2023, introduced a tax amnesty programme permitting taxpayers to apply for waiver of penalties and interest accrued until December 31, 2022.

Through the programme, taxpayers will only pay the principal tax amount of outstanding tax debts with KRA is expecting to net over Sh51 billion from the debts accrued in that period.