In a major coup for Uganda’s legal industry, Meritas Advocates has secured Robert Apenya, one of the country’s most accomplished commercial lawyers, as a partner. This strategic move cements Meritas’s…
The Tax Appeals Tribunal of Uganda (TAT) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1997. It is a quasi-judicial body whose mandate is to handle tax disputes between the Uganda Revenue Authority and taxpayers as well as matters of taxation arising out of the tax laws. The specialised nature of the Tribunal enables it to resolve tax disputes expeditiously, professionally and technically. The Tribunal exercises both administrative and judicial powers – it can step into the shoes of the Commissioner General to vary, set aside or confirm his/her decision. It can also remit a matter back to URA for…
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Income tax primarily relates to profits or gains arising from business activities, property ownership and employment. While there are general principles applied in determining what is taxable, overall, a tax rate is applied to a gain. In this regard, items designated for business otherwise referred to as stock in trade are pivotal in determining whether there is a gain or not. Therefore, there is a distinction between assets held for a business, investments which yield taxable income and private property the sale of which is conventionally agreed should not be taxed. The kind of private property which should not be…
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Your Excellency, The President of The Republic of Uganda. I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I am writing as a concerned citizen and tax practitioner in Uganda to bring to your attention certain tax amendments over the years that have had a significant impact on the investment climate in our country. I would like to express my sincere hope that you and your esteemed government continue to work towards a prosperous and progressive Uganda. The reasons for the seemingly confused approach to tax vis a vis investors and investment promotion stems from several factors…
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Weeks back, I read a tweet that went like this; “I asked some boda guy why he parked within a roundabout, and he said you can’t be orderly in an environment where everyone is out of order.” And a response under that tweet was something like this; “That’s right. It’s difficult to maintain legality as an individual when illegality is the norm. Similarly when corruption is the norm the uncorrupt get ejected from the system.” This article is not about bodas or corrupt politicians but about corporate corruption and kickbacks in corporate dealings and I am trying to answer one…
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On 15th June 2023, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) issued a public notice, serving as a reminder to the public “to pay stamp duty on all Agreements or Memorandum of Agreement executed or received in Uganda in relation to the purchase and transfer of property”. In their notice URA stated that “any person who purchases or transfers property should present the Agreement or Memorandum of Agreement together with the Transfer and Consent forms to URA for stamp duty assessment, payment, barcoding, and generation of Stamp Certificate. Stamp duty payable on each Agreement or Memorandum of Agreement is UGX 15,000, while…
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The Tax Appeals Tribunal, sitting in Kampala has set aside a UGX4.6 billion import duty assessment against paint makers, Kansai Plascon Uganda. The company dragged the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to the Tribunal, challenging an import duty assessment of UGX4,623,958,639 on raw materials imported between 2017 to 2021 from Egypt, namely long oil alkyd resins, polymers and calcium carbonate. Egypt, just like Uganda, is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); therefore, the said goods were supposed to enjoy preferential tax status. In the tax dispute, URA told the court that during this period, Kansai…
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The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment Bill) 2023 which was published in the Gazette of 30th March 2023 has many novel amendments but this commentary focuses on the proposed amendment to Section 42 of the Act. Section 42 empowers the Commissioner to require any person by notice in writing, whether or not liable for tax to furnish within the time specified in the notice any information that may be stated in the notice. This Section is couched in such strong terms as evidenced in clause (4) which states that; “This section has effect despite- any law relating to privilege or the public interest with respect to the giving of information…
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The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill 2023 has a number of provisions that attempt to correct the complications and injustices related to the waiver of penalties and interest that has been enacted since 2017. The proposed amendment to Section 39 of the Principal Act reads; “(4) For the avoidance of doubt interest due and payable under the tax law as at 1st July 2017 exceeds the aggregate of the principal tax and penal tax the interest in excess of the aggregate is waived” There are three issues with this proposal; The words ‘for the avoidance of doubt’ have been used in…
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The Income Tax Bill published on 30th March 2023 is spectacular in that it attempts to make dramatic reforms in tax. Apart from doing away with the incentive for investors called initial allowance (50% of the cost base of an eligible property in a radius of 50km outside Kampala and 20% within that radius), it has introduced a wider-ranging tax on digital transactions. Of the proposed reforms, perhaps one that will most likely have wide-ranging effects, if not checked by Parliament, is the redesigning of the policy on the sale of assets which has been upgraded from taxing business assets…
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