What are the new laws Museveni has signed?

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President Yoweri has signed into law seven Bills passed by Parliament into law.

The President made the revelation late June 30, 2025, in a social media post.

Below is a brief of what the laws intend to do:

THE VALUE ADDED TAX (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2025.

The amended Value Added Tax Act, Cap. 344, now provides for the anti-fragmentation rule for imported goods; to exempt biomass pellets and solar lanterns from Value Added Tax; to set a zero rate for the supply of aircraft; to prescribe the United Nations-related Agencies and specialised Agencies as listed institutions and for related matters.

The law aims to make biomass pellets cheaper and, in turn encourage their production, which would lead to the use of more renewable energy and preserve the environment.

THE STAMP DUTY (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2025.

The amended Schedule 2 to the Stamp Duty Act, Cap. 339 provides for zero tax for agreements or a memorandum of an agreement and a mortgage deed. Parliament on May 25, 2025, passed the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2025, scrapping the longstanding shillings 15,000 duty on agreements and mortgage deeds.

Parliament Finance Committee chairperson Amos Kankunda supported the move, stating that the removal of the shillings 15,000 stamp duty would ease the registration of agreements and encourage formalisation of contracts. The legislators said stamp duties on credit-related instruments have been driving up borrowing costs and discouraging private sector growth.

THE EXCISE DUTY (AMENDMENT) (No.2) ACT, 2025.

The amended Excise Duty Act, Cap. 336 provides for the remission of excise duty paid on damaged, expired, or obsolete goods; to revise the rate of excise duty on certain excisable goods and services under Schedule 2 to the Act; and for related matters.

THE TAX PROCEDURES CODE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2025.

The law provides for making national identification numbers (NINs) the official tax identification numbers (TINs) for individuals.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY APPROPRIATION ACT, 2025.

THE HIDES AND SKINS (EXPORT DUTY) (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2025.

Parliament on May 25, 2025, passed the Hides and Skins Export Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2025, dropping exemptions that previously allowed the export of glue stock and semi-processed hides and skins without taxation.

Under the new law, all exports of hides and skins, including glue stock, will attract a levy of $0.80 (about shillings 2,800) per kilogramme.

Presenting the House finance committee report, chairperson Amos Kankunda said the removal of exemptions was prompted by a surge in glue stock exports that had depleted raw materials for local tanneries and hindered value addition efforts.

“The Amendment seeks to enhance the availability of raw materials for Uganda's tannery industry and support local value addition,” he said.

Members, however, debated passionately over the classification of “glue stock” products, offcuts of hides processed into a food item known as ponmo for West African markets.

THE EXTERNAL TRADE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2025.

The law introduces a compulsory infrastructure levy of 1.5% of the customs value on all goods imported into the country for home use.

In customs terms, goods for home use are those that are imported solely for sale or final use within Uganda.

Currently, the infrastructure levy of 1.5% is only applicable to selected dutiable items imported from outside the East African Community region.

The amendment implies that all goods imported into Uganda from outside the EAC region for home use, and that are not listed in the exemption schedule, must pay this compulsory levy, effective July 1, 2025.

Goods and products that are exempted from customs duty as listed in the Exemptions Regime, Fifth Schedule of the EACCMA, 2004. Some examples include goods specially designed for use by PWDs, rally drivers, containers and pallets, passenger baggage, mosquito nets, seeds for sowing, agricultural inputs, education materials, refrigerated trucks, hotel equipment, emergency relief goods, diagnostic reagents and equipment.

⁠THE APPROPRIATION ACT, 2025.

This law authorises public expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of a sum of 40.749 trillion to meet the expenditure of this financial year (2025/2026).