URA boss, John Musinguzi (R) hands over a gift hamper to Pastor Robert Kayanja the founder and senior pastor of the Miracle Centre Cathedral a mega church in Kampala
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has waived penalties mated out to over 200 traders in the course of transacting with on the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS), Habari Daily has learnt.
John Musinguzi, the URA commissioner general said they expect to give waivers to over 200 traders who faulted EFRIS during the week-long verification exercise held ay the URA headquarters at Nakawa.
“We waived penalties on over 200 companies in a week-long exercise,” he told reporters, pointing out that traders didn’t receive an automatic waiver.
“The weiver is only given to firms which have been compliant in their tax obligations and those traders who were using EFRIS for the first time and did not know how to use the system,” he said.
Musinguzi highlighted its availability on multiple platforms, including a mobile app for smartphones, an EFD machine costing Shs1.1 million, a computer app, and a system-to-system integration with URA’s system.
He clarified that while EFRIS is mandatory for VAT-registered taxpayers, it is also beneficial for small businesses to use it when supplying goods to VAT-registered businesses.
Musinguzi said URA is deliberately deploying a number of technologies for the purpose of efficiently assessing tax and collecting it for our national development.
URA’s move was in response to a recent directive by President Yoweri Museveni that URA to suspend fines and penalties for non-compliant traders and instead encouraged dialogue between taxpayers and tax collectors.
He pointed out section 24 of the Tax Procedures Act, which says that a person who is dissatisfied with a tax decision may lodge a complaint with the Commissioner within 45 days after receiving a tax decision. This prompted them to extend the waiver, he said.
Ibrahim Bbosa, URA’s Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs, said they are striving to create a bond with taxpayers.
“This would then enable us to have a cordial conversation with them on what pains them and how we can be of help.”
