Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Bill 2019
Introduction
Nairobi City County has formulated the Revenue Administration Bill 2019 to provide a legislative framework for the general administration of revenue raising laws, effective administration of revenue collected by the county government; the assessment, collection, receipt and management of the revenue; establish the County Revenue Board.
We have made the following observations and proposals under recommendation column for possible consideration by Nairobi County Assembly.
Find our input below:
| Section | Section | Justification |
| Sec 8 (4) (iii) | One of the grounds upon which County Revenue Administrator can be removed from office is through: Physical or mental incapacity to perform the functions of the office | This needs to be edited to provide a timeframe for which people who are mentally incapacitated can be given opportunity to recover after which they can be relieved off their duties. Employees suffering from mental illness should be given treatment and care. Mental illness is just like any disease that needs treatment. |
| 12 (1) | The Authority may appoint such number of revenue collectors, officers and staff as it may deem necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act; | This section should be amended since it is a potential loophole that can be exploited by the Authority to employ too many staff who will further rupture the already bloated wage bill for Nairobi City County. |
| 14(2)(3) | Authority shall maintain a register of County revenue payers which shall be available for inspection by any member of the public during office working hours. | There is no need to burden taxpayers with too many identification numbers. It will be wise to use Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) already provided by KRA or better still use ID numbers for individual payers. Also consider using Huduma Numbers. Let us not encourage unnecessary duplication of existing services. Consider that there are temporary revenue payers hence keeping their details in the database will be redundant. |
| 20(4) | A person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offense and shall be liable to a fine of not less than Ksh. 500,000 or imprisonment to a term not exceeding three years or both; | The fine should be enhanced to Ksh. 5 million and imprisonment for not less than 8 years to deter and eliminate any possibilities of wrong doing such as corruption or misuse of office by entering into people’s premises; |
| 26(2) | Where the goods become collectable under sub-section (1), and the owner does not collect them within the stipulated period, the goods shall be forfeited to the county government and dealt with in accordance with Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act. | The duration for which goods can stay in the custody of Revenue Authority before fines are charged should be expressly stated under this section to avoid misuse by the Authority’s officials; |
| 28(1) (b) | Evict the person occupying such County Premises or the land owner setting out conditions for restoration and the time limit within which the person occupying the county premises should comply. | This section is not clear. It should state that people or firms to be evicted shall for example be given a three (3) months’ notice before the actual eviction is conducted. |
| 32(1) & (2) | Sections on Authority’s annual budget estimates. | These two sections are in conflict with each other. There is need to review the timeline for drafting and approving the budget is three months. There should be an allowance to evaluate the budget before approval. |
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References
Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Bill, 2019
