In early September 2026, KRA issued a public notice telling businesses that use TIMS and eTIMS to keep accurate, up-to-date stock records in the system. That covers goods bought or received, sold, transferred, returned, adjusted or disposed of.
This is not a new rule
The requirement already sits in Regulation 4(3)(c) of the Tax Procedures (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2024, which took effect on 28 March 2024. It requires users to keep stock-in and stock-out records in the system, record every local purchase and import, and tell the Commissioner their current stock 30 days before closing a business. What has changed is that KRA is building stock management into eTIMS and has announced consultative forums starting from September 2026.
Why KRA cares about stock
If your stock records show more goods going out than came in, or sales that do not match purchases, the gap points to unrecorded income. KRA can now use eTIMS data when it raises assessments, so mismatches are more likely to be noticed.
What to check now
- Every purchase from a supplier is backed by an eTIMS invoice and recorded as stock in.
- Sales, returns and write-offs are recorded as they happen, not adjusted at year end.
- Your accounting system and eTIMS show the same stock figures.
- Physical stock counts are done and differences are explained and recorded.
If your stock records live in a spreadsheet that nobody updates, now is the time to fix that. Our bookkeeping service includes setting up stock records that agree with eTIMS.