*Online VAT registration frozen in tax fraud purge* The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has now suspended online registration of value-added tax (VAT) obligations amid an ongoing clean-up of its registers to weed out ghost traders suspected of siphoning billions of shillings through fraudulent schemes. In a radical shift, VAT registrations have been reverted to a manual system whereby traders are required to physically present proof of identity to seal loopholes that resulted in revenue leaks through the notorious ‘Missing Trader Scheme’, which involves issuing fictitious invoices to depict a business transaction where no goods and services were supplied. The taxman confirmed the changes saying that applicants are now required to make in-person visits to its offices for VAT registrations as part of a ‘know-your-customer (KYC)’ strategy to thwart the ghost traders. _*Source: Business daily*_