Advantages of Applying for a KRA PIN at a Cyber Café

Nowadays, most of the people who apply for Kenya KRA PINs do so from cyber cafes. This is a departure from what was happening some years ago: where one had to endure long queues at KRA Times Towers offices, to apply and get a KRA PIN card. Nowadays, the whole thing is done online, typically through cyber cafes. There are several advantages that you stand to get, if you too opt to take that route (of applying for a KRA PIN from a cyber cafe).

Firstly, you find that applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café can save you a great deal of time. This is because the cyber café attendants tend to have a lot of experience in these sorts of tasks. On the other hand, if you were to try to apply for the KRA PIN on yourself, you would have to start by learning how it is done, then fumbling through trial and error, until you finally figure out how and thereafter manage to apply for the KRA PIN. That is not viable if you need the KRA PIN urgently. For instance, if you are applying for the KRA PIN with the objective of using it in, say, bidding for a KEMSA tender then you wouldn’t have a lot of time to fumble along with the application. At the very least, you wouldn’t want to get stuck at the KRA PIN application stage (remember, applying for a KRA PIN for a company is not as easy as applying for a KRA PIN for an individual). So to save time, you opt to just give the Kenya Revenue Authority PIN application job to the professionals who have experience in it, at a cyber café.

Secondly, you find that applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café can save you quite a bit of money. The alternative to applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café is to apply for it at KRA offices or at a Huduma Center. But if you are in a town where there is neither a KRA office or a Huduma Center, it would mean that you have to spend potentially a great deal of money in traveling from wherever you are, to a town with a KRA office or a Huduma center to apply for a KRA PIN there. That is money you can save by opting to simply apply for the KRA PIN at a cyber café. You have to remember that even after traveling and getting to the KRA office or Huduma center, they folks you find there may end up still referring you to a cyber café – as they seem to prefer having basic applications done at cyber cafes so that they can concentrate on dealing with the complications that may arise.

Thirdly, there is the reality that applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café can help you avoid blunders that you would otherwise have made if you had attempted to apply for the same on your own. You see, the folks who help clients with KRA PIN applications in cyber cafes tend to be folks who are highly experienced in these sorts of tasks. They therefore know the blundersthat need to be avoided in the KRA PIN application process. Leveraging on that experience, they can help you avoid those blunders.

How to Check the Status of a PIN Using the KRA PIN Checker

It is possible to tell whether a PIN number is genuine. That is something you can do using a feature known as KRA PIN checker. The said KRA PIN checker feature is to be found on KRA’s iTax portal. Besides helping you in checking the genuineness of a KRA PIN, the KRA PIN checker can also help you in ascertaining whether a given KRA PIN number is active. This is to say, in other words, that the KRA PIN checker can help you in ascertaining the status of any given KRA PIN number.

There are three simple steps for you to follow, to check the status (or genuineness) of a KRA PIN using the KRA PIN checker feature.

First, you need to go to the KRA iTax portal. That is easy. Just enter the portal’s address (itax.kra.go.ke) into your browser, and the portal will be displayed on your browser. 

The second step is to indicate that you are specifically interested in using the KRA PIN checker feature. So on the KRA iTax homepage, you will see a section entitled ‘iTax Online Services’, and one of the first things there is the ‘PIN checker’. Below the words ‘PIN checker’ is a line that says ‘To verify PIN, click there’. Click there.

The third step is to enter the KRA PIN number in the screen you are taken to. You may also be required to enter a captcha code (which KRA refers to as ‘Security Stamp’), to prove that you are human and not a bot. Then click on the ‘Consult’ button: whereupon the KRA PIN checker will give you a report on the entered KRA number – the basic details of the KRA PIN number holder, whether the KRA PIN is genuine and what its status is like (as in, for instance, whether it is an active KRA PIN).
That process of course requires you to have access to a computer. That could be your own computer or a cyber cafe computer. Just as you can apply for a KRA PIN at a cyber cafe, so can you check the status of a KRA PIN using a cyber cafe computer.

How to Retrieve Your KRA PIN Number Using ID

It is possible for you to retrieve your KRA PIN number using your ID card.

The first approach entails going to the KRA iTax portal (and to use this option, you also need to know your KRA iTax password, besides your ID number). So you just go to the KRA iTax portal (itax.kra.go.ke), and once there, on the homepage near the top left hand corner, you will see somewhere where it says ‘Do you have a PIN?’ Below that is a space provided for entry of PIN or ID number. In this case, enter the ID number. Then click on the red ‘continue’ button. In the next screen, enter your KRA iTax password. Then upon logging in, roll your mouse over the ‘Registration’ main menu at the top, and click on ‘Reprint KRA PIN certificate’. Reprint the KRA PIN certificate, and go through it to see your KRA PIN number. Thus you will have retrieved your KRA PIN number using ID. You may then consider laminating the new KRA PIN certificate you would have reprinted.

The second approach entails contacting the KRA call center, passing a scanned copy (both sides) of your ID card to them, after which they would help you in getting your KRA PIN number. How do you contact the KRA call center? Well, three options. First via Twitter @KraCare. Second via Facebook: Facebook.com/kracare. Third via email: callcenter@kra.go.ke. After furnishing the KRA call center staff with your ID card, once everything is confirmed to be alright, you will be taken through the motions of getting a new KRA PIN number certificate. You will thus have succeeded in retrieving your KRA PIN number using ID.

If you want to avoid KRA PIN recovery problems, it is important for you to remember the email address with which you registered for your KRA PIN number, as well as its password. If you can’t remember those details off-head, you can surely note them down. It is also important for you to remember your KRA iTax portal password. If you can remember neither the email address you used to register for KRA PIN nor your KRA iTax password, then KRA PIN number recovery becomes complicated. You end up having to scan your ID card and send it to the KRA call center for PIN recovery, and that can be inconvenient, especially if you need the KRA PIN number urgently.

How Do I Undertake KRA PIN Retrieval?

Well, there are several ways in which you can undertake KRA PIN retrieval.

One way in which you can undertake KRA PIN retrieval is through email. So if you applied for your KRA PIN through the KRA iTax portal, chances are that you were required to enter an email address at some stage in the process. That is the email address to which your KRA PIN certificate was sent, once you completed the application. So you can just log into that email (if you remember the email address and password), go to the email through which the KRA PIN certificate was sent, and proceed to print it out. You would thus have retrieved your KRA PIN with ease.

Another way in which you can undertake KRA PIN retrieval is through the iTax portal (itax.kra.go.ke). This applies if you remember your iTax password. So you just go to the iTax portal, and focus where it asks you whether you have a KRA PIN. Within that section (near top left) is a space provided for you to enter your PIN number or ID card number. So you enter your ID card number. Then you enter the required password to log in. Then once you are logged in, run your mouse over the ‘Registration’ main menu item, and from the drop down menu that appears, click on ‘Reprint PIN Certificate’. You would thus have retrieved your KRA PIN.

Yet another way in which you can undertake KRA PIN retrieval is through the KRA call center. This may be necessary if you can’t remember the email address through which you registered for KRA PIN, and also can’t remember your KRA iTax password. So in this case, you would need to contact KRA call center: at facebook.com/kracare or through twitter @KraCare or through email at callcenter@kra.go.ke. The KRA call center people will then request you to send them a scanned copy of your ID card, both sides, after which they would help you with the rest of the steps in KRA PIN retrieval.

How to Recover a Lost KRA PIN at a Cyber Café

Is it possible to recover a lost KRA PIN at a cyber café? Well, yes. But in most cases, recovering a KRA PIN at a cyber café tends to be a little more complicated than, say, applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café. If you had an easy time applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café, don’t expect KRA PIN recovery to be necessarily similarly easy.

To recover a lost KRA PIN at a cyber café, the first step will of course be to identify the specific cyber café where you are to attempt it. You have to understand that there are some cyber cafes where the attendants don’t have the skills to do KRA PIN recovery. There are others where though they may have the skills for KRA PIN recovery, they don’t have time for it (instead preferring to offer other services that bring in money quicker). Nonetheless, in the better established cyber cafes, you are bound to find staff who know how to go about KRA PIN recovery.

Having identified the cyber café where you will be attempting to recover your lost KRA PIN, the next step will be to venture inside, and tell the attendants that you want to be assisted with the recovery of your KRA PIN certificate. The cyber café assistants will then tell you what they charge for the service. They will then probably ask you for your ID card.

The cyber café assistants may want to know whether you remember the email you used to register for KRA PIN. That is if you remember the email address and password. If you do, things may be easy – as they may just log into the email address for you, go to the email address that KRA sent the PIN certificate to you, and proceed to reprint it for you.

If you don’t remember the email address you used to register for KRA PIN, and you also don’t remember your KRA iTax password, then they would have to scan your ID card, both sides (colored I think), and email it to KRA call center, for assistance in PIN recovery. They may also get in touch with the KRA call center staff on Twitter or Facebook for faster assistance in KRA PIN recovery. It may take time, and the cyber café assistants may even tell you to go and come back at a later time to see if your KRA PIN will have been recovered. Eventually though, if they go about it in the right way (by way of emailing a scanned copy of your ID or passing your scanned ID card to KRA call center staff via Twitter or Facebook) you will eventually recover your KRA PIN.

KRA PIN Recovery: How Can I Go About Recovering My Lost KRA PIN?

Well, it depends on the nature of the KRA PIN loss. Is it a case where you lost your KRA PIN certificate but you remember the email address you used to register for KRA PIN? Or is it a case where you lost your KRA PIN certificate and you also can’t remember the email address you used to register for KRA PIN? Is it a case where you lost the KRA PIN certificate, can’t remember the email address you used to register for KRA PIN, but can remember your KRA iTax password? Or is it a case where you lost your KRA PIN certificate, can’t remember the email you used to register for the KRA PIN, and also can’t remember your KRA iTax password?

If you just lost your KRA PIN certificate, but you remember the email address you used to register for KRA PIN, then it should be an easy case. You just log into that email address (so this means that you should remember both the email address and the password). Then you click on the email through which KRA sent you the PIN certificate – if you didn’t delete it. Then you go ahead and just reprint the KRA certificate from that email.

If you lost the KRA PIN certificate, but remember your iTax password (say, you had noted it down), then it is not too complicated. You just go to the KRA iTax portal, enter your ID number into the space provided for it (near the top left hand corner of KRA iTax landing page), then after entering your ID number, click on the ‘Continue’ button. You would then be required to enter your KRA iTax password, and after logging in, you would just need to click on the ‘Reprint’ button for KRA PIN certificate (under the 'Registration' main menu item), and voila, you get yourself another KRA PIN certificate.

If you lost the KRA PIN certificate, can’t remember your iTax password nor the email address you used to register for KRA PIN, then that is a little tricky. You would probably have to email a scanned copy of your ID card (both sides) to the KRA call center people, who would then take you through the motions of recovering the KRA PIN. Alternatively, you can use KRA’s call center social media pages (Twitter and Facebook) to get in touch with the KRA call center people who, upon receiving a scanned copy of your ID card, may assist you with KRA PIN recovery. I think KRA’s call center email address is callcenter@kra.go.ke. Their Twitter page is (I think) @KRACare whereas their Facebook page is facebook.com/KraCare.

All said and done, though KRA PIN recovery may be frustrating in some cases, it is nonetheless something that can be done with a little patience.

How to Apply for a KRA PIN for a Company

It is possible to apply for a KRA PIN for a company.

The first step is to go to KRA’s iTax portal. So you just enter the KRA iTAx address (itax.kra.go.ke) into your browser, so as to have the iTax portal appear on your browser.

The second step, once you are at the KRA iTax portal, is to click on the red ‘Register’ button -- you know, the one below where they system asks you ‘Do you want to apply for a KRA PIN?’.  You can also click where it says ‘click here’ – under the section entitled ‘Do you want to apply for a KRA PIN?’.

On the screen that appears next, under taxpayer type, click on the ‘non-individual’ option. And under ‘mode of registration’ select ‘online form’. Then click on the ‘Next’ button.

The next step then is to fill in the KRA PIN for company application form. So in the first part of the application form for a company KRA PIN, you fill in basic information. That includes details such as the business type, business name, business registration number, the business' physical and postal addresses, details of ownership structure and bank account details. 

In the second part of the application form for company KRA PIN, you fill in obligation details – that is, the taxpayer obligation details. 

Then in the third section of the KRA PIN for company application form, you fill in details about the people associated with the business, including its directors, partners and associates. 

The final section of the company KRA PIN application form has details about the tax agents (who may be authorized to submit the application on behalf of the company in question).

It soon becomes clear that the company KRA PIN application form is slightly more complex than the KRA PIN for individuals application form. So the person filling it needs to be someone who really knows what he/she is doing. It is also important to ensure that you have enough time, before embarking on KRA PIN for company application, because there is quite a bit of information to be filled in. 

How to Laminate a KRA PIN Certifiate

Having managed to apply for and obtain a KRA PIN certificate, it would be a good idea to laminate it. Laminating the KRA PIN certificate makes it more durable. It also make the KRA PIN certificate look like the important document it is. Furthermore, a laminated KRA PIN is less vulnerable to the elements. Even if moisture seeps into the box (or whatever other space) you are keeping the KRA PIN certificate, you can be sure that it won’t get messed up with, if it is laminated.

Now there are 4 simple steps you need to follow, while trying to laminate a KRA PIN certificate.

The first step is to put the laminating machine on, and wait for it to warm up to the required temperature. So this is just a question of plugging the laminating machine to the power socket, then flicking its switch to turn it on. As it warms up, you can be going through the other steps below.

The second step is to photocopy the original KRA PIN certificate. This way, you would have the photocopy to fall back on, in case the document gets messed up in the course of lamination. It is good practice to always photocopy documents before laminating them.

The third step is to trim the KRA PIN into just the right size, in readiness for lamination. You have to understand that laminating paper costs money. You therefore should avoid wasting it, by seeing to it that you trim documents to just the right sizes, before laminating them.

The fourth step is to put the trimmed KRA PIN certificate into the laminating paper film. So the idea is to ensure that the KRA PIN is placed in between the two laminating paper films.

The fourth steps is to put the KRA PIN certificate (which is now ensconced within the laminating paper film leaves) into the laminating machine. By the time the KRA PIN emerges on the other side of the laminating machine, it will have been laminated: thereby improving its aesthetic appeal as well as its durability.

Selecting a KRA PIN Application Cyber Café

Nowadays, many of the people seeking to apply for KRA PINs end up having to apply for them in cyber cafes. It is, of course, possible for one to apply for a KRA PIN by himself or herself, using the KRA iTax portal. But if one doesn’t have a computer with which to access the KRA iTax portal and apply for a KRA PIN from there, then one may have no choice but to apply for a KRA PIN from a cyber café. Even if one has a computer, but doesn’t know how use web-based applications -- including the KRA iTax system used for KRA PIN application -- then one would have no choice but to apply for the KRA PIN from a cyber café.

Having made the decision to apply for a KRA PIN from a cyber café, the next challenge that arises is that of selecting the specific cyber café where one is to make the KRA PIN application.

Now there are some individuals who opt to apply for a KRAPIN from the cyber café that is nearest to them. So this just a question of going to the cyber café that is nearest to your house/office/business premises, and telling the people there to help you with KRA PIN application.

There are also some individuals who opt to apply for a KRA PIN from the cyber café that charges the lowest fees for the service. KRA itself doesn’t charge for PIN issuance. But when you apply for a KRA PIN from a cyber café, you have to pay the cyber café people for the service – and the applicable fees vary from cyber café to cyber café. So there are individuals who ask for the KRA application cyber café fees from several cyber cafes, before settling on the one charging the lowest fees for this particular service.

There are also those who opt to apply for KRA PINs from cyber cafes that are operated by people they are acquainted with. So like if your cousin or neighbor operates a cyber café, you opt to apply for your KRA PIN from that particular cyber café – you know, so as to ‘promote’ your acquaintance.

In the final analysis, the cyber café you opt to apply for a KRA PIN has to be one that actually offers this service. It has to be one where you won’t have to wait for too long before being attended to. And it has to be one whose charges (in terms of KRA PIN application cyber café fees) are reasonable.

3 Places Where You Can Apply for a KRA PIN

Where can I get a KRA PIN? That is a question often posed by individuals who have been told that they need to have KRA PIN, for certain things to go through. So this may be an individual who was trying to open a bank account in Kenya, only to be told that he needs to have a KRA PIN. Or it may be an individual who has gotten a new job, only to be told that he needs to have a KRA PIN, before they can be on-boarded. Or it may be a person who was trying to undertake a land sale transaction, or any other type of transaction that requires KRA PIN.

So, indeed, where can someone apply for a KRA PIN?

Well, if you have a computer at home, you can use it to apply for a KRA PIN by yourself. That is just a matter of going to the KRA iTax portal (itax.kra.go.ke), clicking to indicate that you wish to apply for a KRA PIN, and going ahead to fill in the KRA PIN application form with the required information.

Another place you can go to apply for a KRA PIN is a cybercafé. So you just go to a cyber café, tell the people there that you want to have them help you with KRA PIN application. Then they fill in the KRA PIN application form for you, culminating in you being issued with a KRA PIN certificate.

Yet another place where you can go to apply for a KRA PIN is a Huduma center. You find that in most Huduma centers, there is a desk that is dedicated to KRA issues. So you can just present yourself at the said KRA issues desk at a Huduma Center and proceed to apply for a KRA PIN there.

There is yet another option, of going to the KRA offices, and applying for a KRA PIN there. This option can be particularly useful if your KRA PIN application process is presenting complications. So faced with such complications, you find that it is only the KRA people who can help you – hence the need for you to visit the nearest KRA office for PIN application. But if there are no problems in your KRA PIN application, then you can do it by yourself at a cyber cafe or using your computer at home. You thus save time and energy.

How Much Does it Cost to Apply for a KRA PIN?

Well, my understanding is that the Kenya Revenue Authority doesn’t charge anything for KRA PIN application. So in terms of government payments, there is absolutely nothing that you will have to pay, to apply for a KRA PIN. It is free. However, if you are applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café (as most people are having to do nowadays), then you would have to pay the cyber café people for the service. You see, in helping you to apply for a KRA PIN, the cyber café people render a service to you, right? Then you have to pay for that service. Some cyber cafes charge as little as 200 shillings for the service, some even less. Others charge as much as 500 shillings for the KRA application service, some even more. 

Of course, if you go to a cyber cafe and apply for a KRA PIN by yourself (using one of the computers in the cyber cafe), then you would only have to pay for the minutes you used in the process. Thus, for instance, if the process of applying for a KRA PIN takes you some 40 minutes, and the cyber café you visited charges 1 shilling per minute, then you would only have to pay 40 shillings. But that is only if you are applying for the KRA PIN by yourself. If it is the cyber café people who are applying for the PIN for you/helping you in applying for the KRA PIN, different charges would apply.

Of course, if you have your own computer, you can just go to KRA's iTax portal (itax.kra.go.ke), and apply for your PIN there, and you wouldn't pay anything. You can even attempt it using a smart-phone, if you have a good smart-phone capable of running a browser.

If you don’t have money, but you want to apply for a KRA PIN, you can try visiting the nearest Huduma Center, where they may have a desk dedicated to KRA matters. So you can talk to the folks at the desk, to see if they can help you in KRA application and they wouldn't charge you anything. Another approach you can use, if you have no money but you want a KRA PIN, is to visit the KRA offices. People who used to apply for KRA PINs in the traditional way (before the KRA launched the iTax portal) were able to do so at KRA offices, without paying anything. But then one would have to cope with very long queues. I don’t know if it is still possible to apply for a KRA PIN at the KRA offices, but you can give it a try all the same. But KRA seems to be encouraging people to use the iTax portal for things like KRA PIN application. And in any event, the transport costs you have to incur to get to a Huduma Center or to a KRA office may turn out to be more than what you’d have paid at a cyber café to have the cyber café assistants help you with KRA PIN application. 

How do You Apply for a KRA PIN in a Cyber Café?

Well, to apply for a KRA PIN in a Kenyan cyber café, just follow these 4 simple steps:

1. Identify the specific cyber café where you will be applying for a KRA PIN at. Nowadays, almost every cyber café in Kenya has assistants who are knowledgeable about KRA PIN applications. But charges vary from cyber café to cyber café. So you may need to ask around, and compare rates, before settling on any particular cyber café.
2. Having identified the specific cyber café where you will be applying for a KRA PIN at, venture inside. Then ell the cyber café assistants that you want to apply for a KRA PIN.
3. After telling the cyber café assistants that you want to apply for a KRA PIN, they will probably request you to furnish them with your ID card (or at least with your ID card number). They may also ask you if you have an email address. If you do have an email address, you will need to give it to them (because one needs to have an email address to apply for a KRA PIN online). If you don’t have an email address, the cyber café assistants will create one for you, typically at a small extra cost. Some cyber café assistants may ask you to give them their money/fees at this stage. As stated earlier, charges vary from cyber café to cyber café – with some charging as little as 200 shillings for the services, and others charging as much as 500 shillings for the services and perhaps even more.
4. The cyber café assistant will then go to the KRA iTax portal, and start the process of applying for a KRA PIN. At its core, applying for a KRA PIN is just a question of filling in a simple form with some basic details about you. In most cases, the cyber café KRA PIN application should be completed within a few minutes (typically less than 15). Of course, there are times when you are told that the KRA iTax portal is ‘down’ or is ‘slow’. In such circumstances, the process of applying for a KRA PIN can take slightly longer.

On the other hand, if you are computer literate and know how to use web-based applications (like the KRA iTax application), then you can go to a cyber café, sit behind one of the computers, and apply for the KRA PIN by yourself. It is really not very hard. In this case, you would only need to pay for the minutes you spent making the application. If, for instance, you spent 40 minutes, and the cyber café you visited charges 1 shilling per minute, you would only have to pay some 40 bob.