Paperwork for Venues and Caterers in Kenya

VAT basics for venues and caterers

VAT is 16 percent, with registration required at KES 5 million of taxable supplies a year. Every business, VAT-registered or not, must issue electronic tax invoices through eTIMS, and buyers can only deduct expenses backed by one. Regulated hotels and restaurants also pay a 2 percent levy to the Tourism Fund by the 10th of each month.

eTIMS applies to every business, VAT-registered or not

KRA says all persons engaged in business must onboard eTIMS and issue electronic tax invoices. That includes companies, partnerships, sole proprietors and businesses that are not registered for VAT, and even suppliers of VAT-exempt services. Since 1 January 2024, a buyer can only claim a business expense if it is supported by an electronic tax invoice, with a short list of exceptions such as salaries, imports and interest.

For an event business that means two things. Your corporate clients will ask for an eTIMS invoice before they pay, because without it they cannot deduct your bill. And the suppliers you buy from, butchers, tent companies, florists, need to give you eTIMS invoices too, or your own expenses become non-deductible.

VAT at 16% and the KES 5 million threshold

The general VAT rate is 16 percent. KRA's VAT page says anyone who supplies, or expects to supply, taxable goods and services worth KES 5 million or more in a year must register, with voluntary registration possible below that. The Finance Act 2025 proposed raising the threshold to KES 8 million, but practitioner summaries say that change has not taken effect. VAT returns and payment are due by the 20th of the following month.

The Tourism Fund levy on hotels, restaurants and caterers

The Tourism Fund collects a 2 percent levy from regulated hotels, restaurants and other regulated tourism activities. Its brochure explains how to work the levy out of food and drink sales when prices already include service charge or VAT, and says each month's levy is due by the 10th of the following month, with a KES 5,000 penalty for late payment plus 3 percent a month on the amount outstanding. Check with the Fund whether your venue or catering business is regulated before you start charging for it.

Your suppliers need eTIMS too

The expense rule cuts both ways. A caterer who buys goats from a farmer, hires tents from a small rental company or pays a florist in cash has to be able to show eTIMS invoices for those costs, or they cannot be deducted from the business's income. Where a supplier is a small business with turnover of no more than KES 5 million, KRA says the buyer issues the invoice on the seller's behalf, which is what buyer-initiated invoicing in eTIMS is for. Build that step into how your purchasing officer pays suppliers, instead of discovering the gap when your accountant closes the year.

Templates for Kenyan venues and caterers

Each guide below explains one document with a Kenyan example and a free Excel file in shillings.

• Quotation template for venues and caterers: /ke/quotation-template
• eTIMS invoice template and checklist: /ke/etims-invoice-template
• Receipt template for M-Pesa, bank and cash payments: /ke/receipt-template

Wedding committees, ruracio and conference season

Kenyan weddings are often funded through committee meetings, where friends and relatives pledge and pay contributions into a treasurer's account or M-Pesa till. The ruracio, the church service and the reception may involve different venues and caterers across two counties. On the corporate side, Mombasa, Naivasha and Nairobi hotels fill with conferences from July to November. All of these produce payments from people who are not the client, and a clear quotation and receipt trail is what stops confusion.

Where Venura helps

Venura keeps the venue calendar, quotations, invoice breakdowns, deposits and receipts for each booking together, in shillings, with your own tax rate on each line, and lets you send documents on WhatsApp. Kenyan venues and caterers can subscribe and pay in their own currency; pricing is quoted per business, so ask us. Venura is not connected to eTIMS, so the tax invoice itself must still be issued through one of KRA's eTIMS solutions.

Questions from Kenya