By Grace Wandera
Businesses that adopt customer centricity, which demands that the customer is the centre of attention, will remain competitive, grow their customer base, and improve their bottom line.
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, where taxpayers have expectations for personalized and seamless experiences, customer centricity has become essential for success. Adopting the approach means that organizations must prioritize understanding their customers’ needs, and preferences, and use this information to tailor their products, services, or interactions to meet and exceed those expectations.
For revenue agencies, providing friendly and convenient services can greatly promote goodwill for payment of taxes, influence compliance levels and enhance revenue mobilization. By putting the taxpayer at the center of what they do, revenue agencies can enhance the overall customer experience, build loyalty, and eventually increase revenue collection.
More often, tax administrations have been viewed as unapproachable to the general public. The perception has often affected the relationship between the customer and the taxman. In the long term, this may affect the customer in meeting their tax obligations. However, by adopting a customer-centric approach, revenue agencies can change this perception and boost revenue collection.
At Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), we have been implementing several initiatives aimed at making our services friendlier and more accessible to customers. For instance, through iTax, which is the main platform for domestic taxes, taxpayers are able to access tax services and information at the click of a button. This has been a game-changer, because with iTax, taxpayers also file their returns from the comfort of their homes or offices, eliminating the need to visit KRA offices physically. Additionally, iTax allows for faster processing of returns, reduces errors, and enhances transparency in the tax filing process.
The Contact Centre (CC) is another initiative that promotes good customer service; customers interact with us through phone calls or on social media to have their service needs facilitated. We attend to over 25,000 customer queries and requests via phone calls and 37,000 via social media. This number of customers served through the CC is expected to increase as we enter the peak of the 2022 tax return filing season.
KRA is also implementing offsite return filing support which aims at bringing services closer to customers. The initiative has a series of activations at the grassroots christened “Ushuru mashinani”, which create awareness and help customers understand their tax obligations.
Additionally, KRA is implementing sensitizations through the online platforms, media channels and tax clinics across the country to assist taxpayers with filing their returns.
Another way in which customer-centric services can boost revenue administration is by creating a sense of trust between taxpayers and revenue authorities. When taxpayers feel that they are listened to and their feedback taken positively, they are more likely to comply with tax laws and regulations. This encourages voluntary compliance.
To build this trust, KRA has implemented several customer outreach and engagement programs – it has conducted customer visits across the country to not only appreciate customers for their contributions and support in revenue mobilization, but also receive feedback on areas of collaboration and improvement.
Through these visits, the tax man has been able to interact directly with its customers, allowing them to experience the more humane and friendly aspect of revenue administrators. These visits have enabled timely responses to inquiries, transparent communication about tax laws and regulations, and demonstrated a willingness to work with customers to resolve any issues or concerns they may have. By prioritizing customer service in this way, KRA demonstrates its facilitative approach, to help and support customers in fulfilling their tax obligations.
Our major focus now is to ensure timely facilitation of our customers with regards to the 2022 income tax return filing. The filing season began on January 1, 2023 and will end on June 30, 2023. So far, KRA has received positive response, with customers demonstrating resilience in complying with their tax obligations, amidst uncomfortable economic times. We encourage our customers to avoid the last minute rush and file their 2022 income tax returns this early.
Writer is the Deputy Commissioner, Marketing and Communication Department at Kenya Revenue Authority
