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KAMPALA - The Government says it plans to set up a new tax complaints liaison office in Kampala.

The office is expected to deal with concerns from, especially traders regarding taxes in a bid to reduce hostilities against tax payment according to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) director general  John Musinguzi Rujoki.

"We are going to have a permanent office in the  central business district (CBD) not for purposes of collecting taxes, " he said.

"This will be a dedicated team to educate the taxpayers,  help them overcome the fear of technology because it (technology) can be very intimidating, and to help them file tax returns, especially those people who have no accountants."

He was speaking during a local radio talk show on Saturday, April 13, 2024.

The development comes against a backdrop of protests against EFRIS (Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution) implementation in the country.

Since Monday last week, business activities in downtown Kampala, particularly in the Kikuubo hub, have been disrupted as some traders opted to close their shops in protest over various concerns regarding business operations.

The traders emphasized the need for the President’s intervention and a meeting with all relevant stakeholders to address the issues effectively.

“We only look forward to the planned meeting with the President. It seems he is the only one who can solve these issues because we have tried all possible ways, and they have since failed. So, we want to meet the President when every responsible MDA is present to present our case as they present their reasons as well,”  Thaddeus Musoke, the chairperson of Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), said last week.

What's EFRIS?

EFRIS entails the use of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs), e-invoicing, or direct communication with business transaction systems to manage the issuance of e-receipts and e-invoices under the Tax Procedures Code Act 2014.

Musinguzi explained that with EFRIS URA is just "unblocking the agents in between who have been retaining our money (VAT) and not allowing us to go to the end of the value chain. "

This is to help increase tax collection, which he said is one of the lowest in the region.

According to him, the hope is that increasing efficiency in tax collection to at least 20 per cent of GDP, from the current 14 per cent, will help reduce reliance on foreign support to run the country's development programmes.