KAMPALA —The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has announced plans to register all traders in the Kikuubo business centre as part of its efforts to implement the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS).
The registration process aims to verify which traders are eligible to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) and to widen the tax base.
“EFRIS targets all businesses, regardless of their annual turnover, which is currently set at 150 million shillings,” said Commissioner General John Musinguzi, while appearing before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chaired by Medard Segona.
The registration exercise is expected to help URA accurately identify and collect taxes from eligible businesses, reducing revenue loss and boosting tax compliance.
“URA loses approximately 4 trillion shillings annually due to lack of capacity in collecting taxes, which EFRIS aims to address,” added Musinguzi.
Currently, there are 32,000 registered VAT payers, and URA plans to implement EFRIS to increase this number.
“We have heard some leaders discouraging traders against the exercise, saying that failure to comply will make the penalty a collectable tax. But we urge traders with tax penalties to take up the opportunity to reach out to the tax body and have their penalty waived,” said Ibrahim Bbosa, URA’s Assistant Commissioner for Corporate Affairs. “We want to assure traders that this exercise is a great opportunity for them to regularize their tax status and avoid any potential penalties. We encourage all traders to take advantage of this opportunity and register with URA.”
The President is expected to meet with traders and URA officials to resolve any outstanding issues.
