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 TRADERS' STRIKE 

Today (Friday), President Yoweri Museveni will meet with the leaders representing the business community at State House Entebbe.

In a statement, the President's press team confirmed this scheduled meeting.

To be specific, Museveni will meet the leaders of traders and stakeholders.

The President's office also said he will "organize a meeting at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala for traders".

The date and time of the second meeting at Kololo will be communicated later, the statement added.

▪️  Government to waive penalties on EFRIS

Closed shops are seen at Arua Park in Kampala on April 16, 2024. (Credit: Mpalanyi Ssentongo)

Friday's much-awaited meeting follows traders' protest against the use of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) in paying value added tax (VAT) to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), among other concerns.

In recent days, the traders have left their shops shut in Kampala's central business district and in other districts across the country.

They are accusing URA of being high-handed in enforcing the use of EFRIS, which was rolled out in 2021 to enhance business efficiency, reduce the burdens of compliance, as well as usher in a new era of meticulous record-keeping.

Earlier in April, security was heightened in Kampala when traders announced that they would go on strike. (Credit: Patrick Kibirango)

Traders' demands

Some of the traders' demands include suspending EFRIS and its related enforcement operations in Kampala as URA continues to sensitize them.

They also want foreign investors to be directed to return to their factories.

Traders also want a reduction in tax values. They are also asking Government to raise the VAT threshold from sh150 million to at least sh1 billion.

They also want the income tax bracket raised up to sh150 million and the  import duty tax of levying $3.5 (13,380) per kilogramme on textile garments dropped.

They also want standardization of tax values for both imported and exported goods, as well as reduction of interest rates to enable them compete favourably with foreign counterparts in the market.

On Thursday, the Government announced that it is in advanced stages of tabling the Competition Act regulations.

Trade state ministry told MPs that the regulations will streamline business practices believed to be the root cause of the ongoing traders' strike.

The law seeks to regulate joint ventures, acquisitions and mergers, which in Uganda's case are usually vertical and horizontal in nature.