Kenya’s biometric identification scheme or Huduma Namba will replace the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) PIN in changes to the law designed to check tax evaders.
The Huduma Namba Bill, 2021 amends the Tax Procedure Act to make biometric ID the key number for identifying taxpayers.
This means Huduma Namba carrying children will automatically be listed as taxpayers once they attain 18 years and will be required to file returns annually irrespective of their income status.
All adults will therefore be required to register with the KRA, offering the taxman a larger pool of people than the 5.5 million that it has netted through the returns.
Filling tax returns has emerged as one of the taxman’s preferred ways to catch tax cheats and grow the income tax segments amid struggles to meet collection targets.
Kenya is seeking to apprehend tax evaders by requiring that the Huduma Namba serves as KRA personal identification number (PIN).
The number of taxpayers who filed returns in the year to June was 5.5 million while official data shows that Kenyans above 18 years are 25.64 million.
The Bill, which is set for formal introduction in Parliament this week states: “Huduma Namba assigned to an individual under the Huduma Act, 2021 shall serve as PIN for the purpose of tax law.”
If it sails through, the KRA will be required to activate the tax obligation of every citizen above the age of 18 years who is not registered as a taxpayer.
The law requires anyone with a PIN to file tax returns irrespective of their employment status.
Children enrolled on the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) or Huduma Namba will by default be registered as a taxpayer upon hitting 18 years.
The Bill requires that upon enrolment of a newborn or any other child, a certificate of birth containing Huduma Namba shall be generated from the NIIMS database.
Kenyan adults will need this new ID to access government services, such as medical attention at State hospitals, marrying or filing tax returns.
Sensitive information such as contact details, fingerprints and a person’s profession was collected in 2019. The idea was to integrate all the data the government has about an individual on various systems under one overarching ID number. The judges ruled the move was constitutional as long as that information was properly protected.
As extensive personal details would be available at the click of a button, they said that Kenyans would be at risk of suffering irreversible damage if the information was misused.
The Bill now ropes in the provisions of the Data Protection Act in the processing of personal data under Huduma Namba.
Under the Data Protection Act, a public officer who shares personal data with a third party without permission risks a fine of Sh500,000 or two years in jail or both.
The Bill imposes a Sh5 million fine or five years imprisonment to individuals who unlawfully and intentionally disclose and disseminate Huduma Namba information.