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eTIMS for repair businesses

The short answer

Whether a business in this trade has to issue eTIMS invoices follows from the rules that apply to any Kenyan business, not from the trade itself; the rules on who must comply are what decide it. What the trade changes is the shape of the job. Walk-in repairs are receipt trade. Corporate IT and equipment contracts, plus brand warranty reimbursement, are invoice work that must reference serial numbers and job references.

A business repairing devices or appliances, charging for labour and parts and holding customer property.

How stock behaves in this trade

Spare parts held speculatively against a long tail of models, plus customer devices on site that are somebody else's property and must be tracked as carefully as stock. The usual lines are device and appliance repair, replacement parts fitted, diagnostics and warranty service on behalf of brands.

What invoicing actually looks like here

Walk-in repairs are receipt trade. Corporate IT and equipment contracts, plus brand warranty reimbursement, are invoice work that must reference serial numbers and job references.

What tends to go wrong

  • Customer devices lost or unclaimed
  • Parts fitted but not charged
  • Quotes given before the fault is known
  • Warranty work reimbursed slowly by brands

Customers here usually pay by m-pesa, cash, brand warranty reimbursement and corporate accounts.

How customers pay in this trade

Payment in a repair business usually comes through m-pesa, cash, brand warranty reimbursement and corporate accounts. That mix decides how hard reconciliation is: every separate channel is a separate record that has to agree with the sales it paid for, and the trades that struggle most are the ones running three or four at once without anything joining them up.

Compliance angles that apply to this trade

  • vat registration
  • invoice contents
  • customer pin
  • labour and parts

What the rules say

Practical guidance

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.

Source: Kenya Revenue Authority
Practical guidance

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.

Source: Kenya Revenue Authority

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.

Common questions

Does a repair business need to issue a tax invoice for every sale?

Walk-in repairs are receipt trade. Corporate IT and equipment contracts, plus brand warranty reimbursement, are invoice work that must reference serial numbers and job references.

What usually goes wrong with records in a repair business?

The recurring problems in this trade are customer devices lost or unclaimed; parts fitted but not charged; quotes given before the fault is known; warranty work reimbursed slowly by brands. Each of them shows up in the records before it shows up in the bank balance.

How should a repair business keep stock records?

Spare parts held speculatively against a long tail of models, plus customer devices on site that are somebody else's property and must be tracked as carefully as stock. 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.

More for repair businesses

Related trades

Sources

  1. officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
  2. officialValue Added Tax Act, 2013 (Act No. 35 of 2013) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18
  3. officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18

Keeping the records this needs

Repair businesses deal with customer devices lost or unclaimed. That is a records problem before it is a tax problem, and it is what Veira was built for.

See how Veira handles itAsk about setting this up

Veira is the product this site is published by. We say so on every page that mentions it rather than presenting it as a neutral recommendation.

Published 2026-09-25 · Updated 2026-09-25 · Compiled by etims.online editorial team · 4 requirements withheld pending verification