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SL-PAYE RULES

Rules under section 130 

THE INCOME TAX (PAYE) (Amendment) Rules, 2010 

[L.N. 257/1973, L.N. 122/1986, L.N. 201/1986, L.N. 319/1987, L.N. 31/1994, L.N. 98/2001, L.N. 175/2001, L.N. 80/2008, L.N. 90/2009, L.N. 84/2010, L.N. 54/2011, L.N. 107/2015.]

1. Citation. 

These Rules may be cited as the Income Tax (PAYE) Rules.

2.Interpretation

(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires - 
"relief claim form" means the relief claim form provided, or in a particular case authorized, by the Commissioner on which an employee claims the reliefs to which he is entitled under Part V of the Act;
"Commissioner" includes an officer authorized in writing by the Commissioner to exercise and perform functions conferred upon the Commissioner under these Rules; 
"emoluments" means - 
  • (a) gains or profits from employment or services rendered which are payable in money; and 
  • (b) the value of housing provided by an employer ascertained under section 5(3) of the Act; and 
  • (c) The value of benefit or facility provided by the employer, where the total value exceeds three thousand shillings per month;  and 
  • (d) in the case of a resident individual, the amount of the pension in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand shillings per year-
    • but does not include gains or profits which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, are in respect of casual employment only;
"employee" includes an individual receiving emoluments in respect of any employment, office, appointment or past employment; 
"monthly pay" means, in relation to a month, the emoluments receivable by an employee during that month, calculated in accordance with the Act and these Rules; 
"monthly personal relief", in relation to a month, means that amount of personal relief to which an employee is entitled in that month in accordance with the relief claim form which he has completed together with any other amount for that month notified to the employer by the Commissioner, and unused monthly personal relief, from a previous month or months in the same year of income; 
"monthly personal relief notification" means a notification provided by the Commissioner to the employer with respect to monthly personal relief of the employee; 
"tax deduction card" means the tax deduction card in the form provided by the Commissioner, or such other document corresponding to a tax deduction card as may be authorized by the Commissioner in a particular case, and on which the information that the Commissioner may direct with respect to tax is recorded; 
"tax tables" means the tables of income tax computed by the Commissioner in accordance with the rates of income tax specified in the Act for a year of income;
"unused personal relief", in relation to a month or months in the same year of income, means that amount of monthly personal relief as is in excess of the tax payable under these Rules in that month or months. 

(2) Nothing in these Rules shall apply to an employer none of whose employees receive emoluments exceeding three thousand six hundred shillings per annum or such greater sum as the Commissioner may, by notice in the Gazette, specify. 

3.Application of Section 128 of Act.  

Section 128 of the Act shall apply to a notice or other document which is authorized or required to be given, served or issued by the Commissioner under these Rules. 

4.Deduction of tax.

(1) An employer who makes a payment of, or on account of, emoluments during a month to an employee of his who is liable to payment of tax shall deduct tax from those emoluments in accordance with these Rules.
(2) An employer who fails to comply with the requirement of paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence. 

5.Calculation of monthly tax due.

 An employer shall in each month calculate, by reference to the tax tables, the tax due from each of his employees in that month having regard to the monthly personal relief of that employee.
  • Provided that an employee shall be entitled to a relief from only one employer. 

6.Calculation of deduction and maintenance of records.

(1) On the occasion of the last payment of emoluments in a month to an employee, the employer shall, except where these Rules otherwise provide, ascertain, in respect of that month, the monthly pay of the employee, the monthly tax chargeable thereon, and the monthly personal relief of the employee. 
(2) If, in the case of an employee, the tax chargeable for a month exceeds his monthly personal relief then the employer shall deduct the amount of such excess from the last payment of emoluments in that month, but if the tax chargeable in a month is greater than the last payment of emoluments in that month:
  • Provided that if the tax chargeable in any month is greater than the last payment of emoluments to the employee in that month, the employer shall deduct such amount of tax as is not recoverable from such payment from the first payment of emoluments in the following month and from any subsequent such payments as may be necessary to recover that amount.
(3) The employer shall, on the tax deduction card, record for every month in which a payment of emoluments is made to an employee, such particulars as the Commissioner may direct in respect of that payment. 
(4) An employer who fails to comply with paragraph (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence.

7.Notification of emoluments and tax deducted.

On the occasion of the last payment of emoluments in a month to an employee, the employer shall in writing notify the employee of the total amount of the emoluments paid by the employer to the employee during that month, the total tax deducted from those emoluments and such other particulars as the Commissioner may require. 

8.**No heading**

(1) If an employee is aggrieved by a calculation with respect to the deduction of tax from his emoluments and is unable to reach agreement with his employer, 
then – 
  • (a) the employer shall inform the employee of his rights under this rule and shall, at the request of the employee, furnish the employee with a written statement showing the manner in which the employer arrived at that calculation; 
  • (b) the employee may give notice of objection in writing to the Commissioner, but that notice shall be valid only if –
    • (i) it states precisely the grounds of his objection; 
    • (ii) there is enclosed therewith the written statement furnished by his employer; and 
    • (iii) it is received by the Commissioner within thirty days of the date on which that statement was received by the employee. 
(2) On receipt of a notice of objection under this rule the Commissioner shall consider the objection and, subject to and in accordance with these Rules, may amend the calculation or reject the objection. 
(3) The Commissioner shall forthwith notify the employer and the employee in writing of his decision on an objection and thereafter on the occasion of payment to that employee in any month of, or on account of, emoluments the amount of tax deducted therefrom by the employer shall be in accordance with that decision. 
(4) Notwithstanding that a valid objection has been made, on the occasion of payment to the employee in any month of, or on account of, emoluments from which tax is to be deducted in accordance with these Rules, the amount of tax deducted by the employer shall be in accordance with the calculation by the employer until the employer is notified by the Commissioner of his decision with respect to the objection. 
(5) Where an amount of tax has been deducted in excess of the amount payable by reason of a decision of the Commissioner under this rule, the Commissioner shall refund that amount to the employee. 

9.End of month procedure.

At the end of every month, an employer shall compile, in the manner that the Commissioner may direct, a list which shall include the name of each employee in his employment from whose emoluments tax was deducted during that month together with the particulars of the amount of tax deducted and such other particulars as the Commissioner may require.

9A

Before the 10th day of the month following the end of each quarter, an employer shall render to the Commissioner a return of emoluments made to each employee in each of the three months, the tax deducted and such other particulars as the Commissioner may require. 
  • Provided that an employer who furnishes the returns of emoluments on a monthly basis using information technology shall not be required to furnish quarterly returns under this paragraph.

10.Payment of tax by employer.

(1) Before the tenth day following the end of every month or before any other day which may be notified to him by the Commissioner, an employer shall, subject to paragraph (2), pay, to such person as the Commissioner shall direct, all amounts of tax which the employer has deducted under these Rules during that month.
  • Provided that in the case of a director, the due date shall be before the tenth day following the end of the month in which payment was made to the director, or the fourth month after the accounting date, whichever is the earlier.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an employer in respect of a month in which the total amount of tax deducted by him is less than one hundred shillings, and in that case, or where in a month no tax is deductible by an employer under these Rules, the employer shall send, before the tenth day following the end of that month or before any other day which may be notified to him by the Commissioner, to the Commissioner a certificate, in the form authorized or provided by the Commissioner showing either that the amount of tax which he deducted in that month was less than one hundred shillings or that he deducted no tax in that month:
  • Provided that when the amount of tax deducted by an employer in a month is less than one hundred shillings, that amount shall be added to the amount of tax deducted by him in the following month, or months, and when in a month the total of all those amounts is greater than one hundred shillings, the employer shall comply with paragraph (1), so however, that the employer shall comply with paragraph (1) in the month of December in each year notwithstanding that the total amounts of tax is less than one hundred shillings. 
(3) A person to whom the Commissioner has, under paragraph (1), directed that an employer pay tax shall keep a record of payment in the form that the Commissioner may direct and shall enter therein particulars of tax which has been paid to him.

(4) An employer who, having deducted tax under this rule fails to account therefor in the manner that the Commissioner may direct, or who fails to comply with paragraph (2), shall be guilty of an offence.

11.Employer failing to pay tax or to provide required certificates

(1) If, before the tenth day following the end of a month, or before a later day that may have been notified to him by the Commissioner, an employer has paid no tax under rule 10 for that month and the Commissioner is unaware of the amount, if any which the employer is liable to pay, or the employer has failed to provide the certificate mentioned in paragraph (2) of that rule, the Commissioner may give notice to the employer requiring him to render, within the time specified in the notice, a return showing the name of every employee to whom he made a payment of emoluments in the period stated in the notice, together with those particulars with regard to each employee that the notice may require being particulars of – 
  • (a) a calculation under rule 5 appropriate to the employee's case; 
  • (b) the payments of emoluments made to the employee during that period; and 
  • (c) any other matter affecting the calculation of the tax which the employer was liable under these Rules to deduct from the payments of emoluments to the employee during that period.
(2) The Commissioner shall ascertain and certify to the best of his knowledge and belief the amount of tax which the employer would have been liable to pay under rule 10 in respect of the month in question had he complied with the provisions of these Rules. 

(3) The production of the return made by the employer under paragraph (1), and of the certificate of the Commissioner under paragraph (2), shall be sufficient evidence that the amount shown in the certificate is the amount of tax which the employer would have been liable to pay under rule 10 in respect of the month in question had he complied with the provisions of these Rules and a document purporting to be such a certificate shall be deemed to be such a certificate until the contrary is proved. 

(4) Where a notice given by the Commissioner under paragraph (1) extends to two or more consecutive months, these Rules shall have effect as if those consecutive months were one month. 

(5) If the Commissioner is not satisfied that the amount paid in respect of a month is the full amount which the employer would have been liable to pay under rule 10 had he complied with these Rules, he may notwithstanding that an amount of tax has been paid by the employer under that rule in respect of that month give a notice under paragraph (1) of this rule and thereupon this rule shall have effect monthly. 

12.Recovery to tax

For purposes of the recovery of tax which an employer would have been liable to pay under rule 10 had he complied with the provisions of these Rules, that employer shall be deemed to have been appointed an agent of his employee under section 96 of the Act. 

 13.Return by employer at end of each year. Deleted by.L. N. No 90 11 June 2009 L. N. No 84 10 June 2010
(1) Not later than one month after the end of each year an employer shall render to the Commissioner – 
(a) a statement and declaration in the form that the Commissioner may provide or authorize in respect of each employee employed at any time during that year, showing such particulars as the Commissioner may require; 
(b) such free monthly personal relief notifications used by the employer during the year as the Commissioner may direct; and
(c) all tax deduction cards used by the employer during the year (including those tax deduction cards which the employer may have submitted during the year for reason of arithmetical errors or other incorrect entries) which shall show, in addition to the particulars required by rule 7, such other particulars as the Commissioner may direct.
(2) An employer who fails, within one month after the end of a year, to pay as the Commissioner has directed the tax deducted which he would have been liable to pay under rule 10 had he complied with the provisions of these Rules, shall be guilty of an offence. 
(3) If an employer ceases to carry on business before the end of a year he shall carry out the requirements of this rule within one month of cessation. 

14.Inspection of employer’s records. 

(1) An employer, when called upon to do so by the Commissioner, shall produce, in English or any other language which the Commissioner may allow, for inspection, at the employer’s premises or at any other place the Commissioner may require - 
  • (a) all wages sheets, salary vouchers, and other books, documents and records whatever relating to the calculation or payment of the emoluments of his employees in respect of the years or months specified by the Commissioner, or to the deduction of tax by reference to those emoluments; or 
  • (b) any of those wages sheets, salary vouchers and other books, documents and records which may be specified by the Commissioner. 
(2) The Commissioner may, on the occasion of an inspection under this rule, prepare a certificate, by reference to the information obtained from the inspection, showing – 
  • (a) the tax which it appears from the documents and records so produced that the employer would have been liable to pay under rule 10 for the years or months covered by the inspection had he complied with the provisions of these Rules; 
  • (b) the tax which, to the best of his knowledge and belief, has not been paid as the Commissioner has directed. 
(3) The production of the certificate mentioned in paragraph (2) shall be sufficient evidence that the employer is liable to pay, in respect of the years or months mentioned in the certificate, the amount shown therein pursuant to paragraph (2)(b), and a document purporting to be such a certificate shall be deemed to be such a certificate until the contrary is proved. 

15.Death of employer 

If an employer dies, anything which he would have been liable to do under these Rules shall be done by his personal representatives, or, in the case of an employer who paid emoluments on behalf of another person, by the person succeeding him, or if no person succeeds him, the person on whose behalf he paid those emoluments.

16.Change of employer.

Where there has been a change in the employer from whom an employee receives emoluments in respect of the same employment, the employer after the change shall, in relation to a matter arising after the change, be liable to do anything which the employer before the change would have been liable to do under these Rules if the change had not taken place, but the employer after the change shall not be liable for payment of tax which was deductible from emoluments paid to the employee before the change took place. 

17-Penalty.

A person guilty of an offence under these Rules shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

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