Effect of Tax Audit on Excise Duty Compliance among Non-Alcoholic Beverages Companies in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Despite these reforms, Excise Duty compliance has remained low, the overriding objective of excise taxes in Kenya is to raise tax revenues, but the performance has been weak. This study aimed to determine the effect of tax audits on excise duty compliance among non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing companies in Nairobi, Kenya. The study will benefit policymakers, KRA, and future researchers. The study was anchored on the Economic deterrence theory. Explanatory research design was employed and the target population was 272 non-alcoholic beverages manufacturing companies in Nairobi with a sample of 162 respondents in this study, 136 out of 162 distributed questionnaires were correctly completed and returned, yielding 84 % response rate. The study showed that tax audit was also found to positively influence excise duty compliance. (β = 0.274, p = 0.002). The government should enhance the frequency and depth of tax audits among non-alcoholic beverage companies. Given the positive impact on compliance, regulatory agencies should allocate more resources and develop specialized audit teams to ensure companies adhere to excise duty obligations. Further research may be conducted to determine the effect of technology and other factors on tax compliance.