John Musinguzi Rujoki
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has officially signed a contract with an Armenian firm, IU networks, to design and develop a next-generation system for tax and revenue administration.
This new platform will replace the aged e-Tax 1 system, which has been in service since the early 2000s.
John Musinguzi, the Commissioner General, described the contract signing as “a historic milestone” in URA and Uganda. He Commended the teams that made the arrangement possible after months of negotiations and explained what this new system means for the country.
“Once completed, the new system that will be intuitive, automated, and highly accessible, will, amongst many things, make it easy for taxpayers to easily navigate the URA interface, and cut processing time, making it quicker, faster and more compatible with most mobile digital tools,” he said in a statement.
The statement, dated taxman’s focus on a modernised online platform is informed by the five-year Corporate strategy for FY 2025/26 – 2029/30 that seeks to push up the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio from the current 14 percent to at least 20 percent.
“This is our solemn mission,” said Musinguzi, adding that, “To achieve this, the need to have a state of the art online platform with self-service tools, notifications, and dashboards which reduces human interaction and enables taxpayers to effectively manage their obligations independently, is important.
Armen Papyan, the Commercial Director at IU networks said the company “understands” and is fully “committed” to the critical mission of URA and what is envisioned in the new tax system.
“Our commitment is absolute,” Papyan said, adding, “We are honoured to have this contract. We shall honour every part of it and we want to meet and exceed the expectations.
Efforts to build a modern e‑tax platform are not only driven by domestic revenue goals but have also been reinforced by policy recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its fifth review of Uganda’s economic programme, the IMF urged the government to prioritise digitisation of the tax system and building a new e- tax platform.
In a letter of intent accompanying the review, the Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, committed to stepping up implementation of the new e‑tax system during the 2024/25 financial year.
Accompanying the e- tax platform, URA has since 2019, implemented several digital tax measures amongst which include the digital tax stamps, implemented by SICPA, the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), the Bonded Warehouse Management System (BWMS).
These measures have supported the taxman to realise targeted revenues, improve compliance levels, but also support individual compliance initiatives.
Last FY 2024/25 outturn, where net revenue collection reached Shs 31.63 trillion against a Shs 31.37 trillion target (100.84% performance), surpassing the target by Shs 262.4 billion, is a clear indication that URA’s digital revolution is having an impact on ground.
URA e-tax tools
As of late 2024 and early 2025, the primary e-tax tools and systems in use by the URA included EFRIS, which is the flagship system for managing business transactions in real-time.
It involves issuing e-receipts and e-invoices, which are transmitted to URA immediately, allowing for pre-populated VAT returns.
Also in use is the Electronic Stamping System, which is a digital system that monitors and stamps goods from the factory of origin to control excise duty, especially for products like cigarettes, to reduce revenue leakages.
URA also uses the New Taxpayer Portal (e-Tax System), which was redesigned to enhance user experience, allowing for 24-hour access to register, file, and pay taxes.
The taxman also uses Simplified Tax Ledgers, which run on an upgraded portal, and include simplified ledgers that help taxpayers easily reconcile transactions and view balances, including those affected by tax amnesties.
Also in use is the Tax Payment Mapping, which is a feature that enables taxpayers to specifically map payments to particular liabilities and periods, reducing errors in allocation.
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