The Kenya Revenue Authority board will no longer have the power to appoint the taxman's deputy commissioners if the Finance Bill, 2024 is approved.
The Finance and Planning Committee of the National Assembly has proposed to amend the Kenya Revenue Authority Act as part of its raft of amendments to the Finance Bill, 2024.
The amendments will be considered clause-by-clause when the Finance Bill, 2024 is tabled for committee stage review by MPs on Tuesday.
In the amendment, the government wants the Director General of KRA to enjoy exclusive powers to appoint deputy commissioners without the board's interference.
"That the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after clause 64," reads the amendments proposed by committee chairperson Kimani Kuria(Molo).
"Section 13 of the Kenya Revenue Authority Act is amended -(a) in subsection (1) by deleting the expression “and Deputy Commissioners”;(b) by inserting the following subsection immediately after subsection (1A)- (1A) The Commissioner-General shall appoint such Deputy Commissioners as may be deemed necessary."
Currently, section 13 of the KRA Act provides that the board shall appoint the commissioners and other officers.
"'The Board shall appoint, to the service of the Authority, such Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners as may be deemed necessary," reads the current act.
The import of the amendment is to cure management challenges at the KRA with respect to the appointment of senior officers.
There was concern that the Director-General is the accounting officer and the Chief Executive yet he has no powers to appoint top staff.
Such top staff like the deputy commissioners hold critical positions at KRA and are vested with huge responsibilities yet the Director-General has no input in their recruitment.
