Grace Ashiru
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has introduced new regulations aimed at ensuring the integrity and tax compliance of mobile devices, set to take effect on January 1, 2025.
The regulations will affect all stakeholders, including local assemblers, importers, distributors, and mobile network operators, ensuring that only tax-compliant devices can be sold and connected to Kenyan networks. According to the new regulations, all local device assemblers must upload the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers of each assembled device to a portal provided by the Kenya Revenue Authority to ensure tax compliance.
All mobile phone importers, regardless of whether the devices are for sale, testing, or research, must include the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number in their import documents submitted to the KRA. The CA stressed that this disclosure is mandatory for registering the devices in the National Master Database on Tax-Compliant Devices.
The Authority also mandated that retailers and wholesalers of mobile devices ensure they only sell or distribute tax-compliant devices. It added that a system will be provided to verify the tax compliance status of mobile devices before purchase by retailers or end-users.
Mobile network operators must ensure that they connect devices to their networks only after verifying their tax compliance status through a whitelist database of compliant devices, which will be provided by the Authority.
Operators will also be required to implement a grey-listing system for non-compliant devices to facilitate regularization within a specified period; otherwise, those devices will be blacklisted,” the Authority added.
The CA confirmed that the new requirement will apply only to devices imported or assembled in the country starting November 1, 2024, and all existing devices on mobile networks by October 31, 2024, will not be affected.
This development has received mixed reactions, with one social media user stating that it violates privacy, suggesting it concerns tracking citizens more than tax compliance.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) oversees the ICT industry, including telecommunications, eCommerce, cybersecurity, broadcasting, and postal services. It is responsible for managing Kenya’s numbering and frequency spectrum, administering the Universal Service Fund (USF), protecting ICT consumers, and facilitating trade by clearing permits for type-approved equipment through the Kenya Trade Network Agency’s TradeNet System.
In a similar development, the authority recently mandated that dealers in Information, Communication, and Technology equipment must adhere to the required approval processes before selling or distributing their products.
The directive aims to protect consumer health and safety, uphold public interest, and secure telecommunications networks in the country, ensuring compliance with both national and internationally recognized standards.
