URA upgrades its electronic system
Nov 02, 2015
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has completed an upgrade to its Asycuda World tax system to make it quicker and better after users complained of intermittent system failure.
By Samuel Sanya
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has completed an upgrade to its Asycuda World tax system to make it quicker and better after users complained of intermittent system failure.
Doris Akol, the URA Commissioner General noted that integrating Uganda’s tax system with other systems in the East African Community (EAC) such as Kenya’s Simba system sometimes slows the network.
She noted that the network breaks down when users, such as clearing and forwarding firms, plug into it with limited bandwidth.
“The network has not been robust enough and we did an upgrade of the system two weeks ago which will make it better,” Akol said at the sidelines of a field visit to African Queen Limited, a local large tax payer in Namanve, Mukono.
She noted that the growth in African Queen Limited’s tax returns from to sh10b in 2014 from sh575m in 2012 is evidence that disciplined companies that pay their taxes can grow and thrive.
Akol pointed out that efforts to expand the tax register have led to the addition of 102,000 new tax payers worth sh23b in tax revenues in the Kampala district alone. The tax register had just 780,000 taxpayers at the end of August 2015.
Josephat Turyasiima, the African Queen Limited managing director urged government to clamp down on counterfeit products that eat up tax revenues from companies that deal in genuine products.
He also said that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is slow in clearing goods on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He said that this reduces their profit and outright loss of business. Akol promised to engage the KRA on the matter.
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