Kenya
On 1 July 2018, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (“AWS Europe”), our Luxembourg-based AWS entity, started selling our services. AWS Europe provides all AWS cloud services for your accounts based in these countries and territories in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Please read the AWS Europe FAQs for more detail.
Overview
AWS Europe is required to charge Value Added Tax (“VAT”) on sales of electronic services to all customers located in Kenya.
VAT charged by AWS Europe
As a result of changes in tax legislation in the Finance Act 2022, if you have accounts located in Kenya, AWS Europe charges local VAT on all service charges incurred from 1 September 2022.
For the applicable rates of VAT, please see our VAT Rates Summary Table (EMEA).
All VAT collected from customers in Kenya will be paid to the Kenya Revenue Authority ("KRA").
AWS Marketplace
For tax information relating to the AWS Marketplace, please visit AWS Marketplace- Tax Help for Buyers or AWS Marketplace- Tax Help for Sellers.
Exemption of Non-Resident Suppliers of Digital Services from the VAT (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2020
AWS Europe is a non-resident supplier of Digital Services and is exempt from issuing electronic tax invoices as required under the Value Added Tax (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2020.
Invoices issued by AWS Europe are not required to have an Electronic Tax Register (“ETR”) receipt and QR code. More information is available in the KRA's Public Notice.
Tax Registration Numbers
AWS collects Tax Registration Numbers (“TRNs”) associated with Value Added Tax (“VAT”) in certain countries to determine your status, as a business (B2B) or private / non-business customer (B2C), as this is a key factor to determine AWS’ liability to charge VAT on your service charges.
If you have a valid TRN associated with VAT, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). This will ensure that your TRN is displayed on the VAT invoices issued by AWS Europe to enable you to claim a credit for VAT charged by AWS Europe, in accordance with your own circumstances, as well as local laws and regulations.
For more information on TRNs please visit Tax Help- Tax Registration Numbers.
Tax Invoices and Bills
If applicable, AWS Europe also issues valid VAT Invoices, available in the Bills section of the console under the header “Tax Invoices”.
If you have a valid TRN associated with VAT, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). This will ensure that your TRN is displayed on the VAT invoices issued by AWS Europe, to enable you to claim a credit for VAT charged by AWS Europe, in accordance with your own circumstances, as well as local laws and regulations.
For information on how to receive a VAT invoice from AWS please visit our Knowledge Centre- How do I get a VAT invoice from AWS?
How does AWS determine if your account is located in Kenya?
At the moment of invoicing, AWS determines the location of each individual account, based on certain information, including your TRN, your Billing address and your Contact address. The result of AWS’ determination is shown as the “Tax Address” on the Tax Settings page of each account.
If you have a consolidated billing family, please note that each account is assessed individually: linked accounts do not inherit the Tax Address or the TRN of the payer account.
The payer account can view the Tax Address of all their linked accounts on their own Tax Settings page of each account.
For more information please see Tax Help- Location.
Additional Information
For additional information on the application of VAT in Kenya, please visit the website of the Kenya Revenue Authority.