KRA Now Has Access of Suppliers Bank Accounts to Expose Tax Evaders

Kenya’s treasury will roll out a fully digitized e-Procurement system (e-GP) that connects supplier bank accounts directly to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Treasury. This move aims to expose tax evaders and fake bidders. The decisive move also targets to expose shell companies inflating credentials to win tenders.

This has been announced by Treasury Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo, who emphasized that the Authority together with the ministry, are working on creating a system that provides real-time visibility into suppliers’ financial transactions, tax compliance, and legitimacy.

The system will help in giving evaluation committees in ministries, counties, and State departments sharper tools to validate bidders for contracts worth over KSh2.5 trillion annually.

All suppliers will be required to register on the new portal, with no exceptions or workarounds. Kenya’s tendering system has long been the epicenter of financial leakages, costing taxpayers billions through forged documents, front companies, and collusive price inflations-scandals including Covid-19 supplies and edible oil imports are just the tip of the iceberg.

The e-GP platform, linked to KRA’s İ-Tax and integrated with the government’s Ifmis payment system, aims to cut procurement costs by 10-15%, potentially saving KSh250 billion in FY2025/26 alone.