The short answer
This one belongs to whoever built or supplies the integration. Establish whether invoices are failing at your system or after it hands them on, because that decides who to call.
What this usually means
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
Where a business's own software talks to eTIMS, a failure sits with whoever built or supplies that integration. The most useful thing a business can do is establish which side is failing, because that determines who to call.
What to suspect first
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
- A change on either side that the other has not accounted for
- Credentials or registration details that have moved on since the integration was built
- Data the integration sends that no longer matches what is expected of it
- An integration nobody has looked at since it was installed, failing quietly until someone notices
What you can check yourself
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
- Find out whether invoices are failing at your system or after it has handed them on. Your vendor can tell you this.
- Check whether anyone is monitoring the integration at all, or whether failures are noticed only when someone asks.
- Establish when it last worked and what changed around then.
- Ask your vendor what the integration does when a submission fails: retry, queue, or drop. A silent drop is the dangerous one.
When to stop and contact KRA. This is a conversation with your software vendor first and KRA second. We do not publish API specifics: they belong to KRA's technical documentation and to the vendor who built against it.
What the rules say
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.
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.
Common questions
Why is my eTIMS integration failing?
This one belongs to whoever built or supplies the integration. Establish whether invoices are failing at your system or after it hands them on, because that decides who to call.
What should I check first when an etims integration is failing?
Find out whether invoices are failing at your system or after it has handed them on. Your vendor can tell you this.
Can you tell me the exact steps to fix it?
Not for anything inside KRA's own software, no. We do not publish click-paths through screens we have not seen documented, because a confident wrong instruction sends you to fix the wrong thing while you are already stuck. What we can do is narrow the cause and tell you when to contact KRA.
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.
Related problems
Sources
- officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialTax Procedures (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2024 — Kenya Gazette / Kenya Law, checked 2026-09-18
- officialeTIMS taxpayer portal — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18