The short answer
Records exist to answer questions later, so the test that matters is not whether you kept something but whether a specific transaction from eight months ago can be found in a few minutes. For ecommerce businesses specifically, that plays out against how the trade already sells and to whom.
Records and audit for ecommerce businesses
Inventory held against orders that arrive unpredictably, with returns and failed deliveries adding a reverse flow that most small operations never record properly. That is the background against which records and audit has to work in this trade.
What invoicing actually looks like here
Consumer orders are receipt trade, but business buyers ordering online still need a compliant invoice, and marketplace and courier settlement statements have to reconcile to the sales records.
What the rules say
This page explains how a requirement generally works. It is not tax advice, and it cannot account for the specifics of any one business. For a position you intend to rely on, confirm with KRA directly or with a registered tax agent.
Tax rules in Kenya change with each Finance Act and with regulations made during the year. Before acting on any figure, deadline or threshold, check the current position on KRA's own website.
What we are not stating here. Some of the specific requirements relating to this topic have not yet been verified against their primary source by our reviewer, so they are withheld from this page rather than stated from memory. That means you will not find a threshold, rate, deadline or penalty figure below. For those, check KRA directly. Everything else on this page explains how the mechanism works and is not affected.
What records are actually for
Records exist to answer questions later, under conditions where memory is not available and the person who knew has left. That framing decides what to keep. If a document would answer "what did we sell, to whom, for how much, and what did it cost us", keep it somewhere retrievable.
Retrievable is the operative word
A box of receipts in the back room technically satisfies keeping records and satisfies nothing else. The test to apply is whether a specific transaction from eight months ago can be found in a few minutes. If not, the records exist but do not work.
Where this goes wrong
- Failed deliveries and returns
- Orders across several platforms in different places
- Payment on delivery reconciliation
Common questions
Does a ecommerce business need to issue a tax invoice for every sale?
Consumer orders are receipt trade, but business buyers ordering online still need a compliant invoice, and marketplace and courier settlement statements have to reconcile to the sales records.
What usually goes wrong with records in a ecommerce business?
The recurring problems in this trade are failed deliveries and returns; orders across several platforms in different places; payment on delivery reconciliation; stock committed to orders that fall through. Each of them shows up in the records before it shows up in the bank balance.
How should a ecommerce business keep stock records?
Inventory held against orders that arrive unpredictably, with returns and failed deliveries adding a reverse flow that most small operations never record properly. Records that do not reflect that pattern will not tell you anything useful, whatever system produces them.
How do I know this information is current?
Tax rules in Kenya change with each Finance Act and with regulations made during the year. Before acting on any figure, deadline or threshold, check the current position on KRA's own website.
Sources
- officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialTax Procedures Act, 2015 (Act No. 29 of 2015) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18
- officialIncome Tax Act (Cap. 470) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18
- officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialFinance Act, 2023 (Act No. 4 of 2023) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18
- officialTax Procedures (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2024 — Kenya Gazette / Kenya Law, checked 2026-09-18
- officialValue Added Tax Act, 2013 (Act No. 35 of 2013) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18