URA suffers sh29b revenue shortfall
Mar 25, 2010
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) got a revenue shortfall of sh29.4b last month. Indirect taxes, mainly VAT and excise duty, declined as a result of underperformance of major sectors like electricity, bottled water, soft drinks and cement.
By David Mugabe
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) got a revenue shortfall of sh29.4b last month. Announcing the month’s performance, Sarah Banage, the authority’s assistant commissioner for public and corporate affairs, explained that indirect taxes, mainly VAT and excise duty, declined as a result of underperformance of major sectors like electricity, bottled water, soft drinks and cement.
“The other major contributing sectors posted declines in sales, except for non-malt beer and spirits,†said Banage in a briefing at the URA head office in Nakawa.
Net revenue for February was sh310b against a target of sh339b, a performance of 91.36%.
Banage, however, said the performance will rebound in the next few months.
International trade had one of the biggest deficits at sh30.85b.
URA noted that the fualt in the Kenya pipeline interrupted the fuel supplyto Uganda, which led to a performance of only 81.49% for duty on petroleum products.
“Some importers had to load from Nairobi and Mombasa instead of Eldoret and Kisumu, which increases cost of transport and the turnaround time for products.â€
Banage, however, said the cumulative taxes from July 2009 to February this year increased to sh102.36b, which is a performance of 107.28%.
Despite the shortfall, the February performance surpassed the same period last year by 0.17%.
The tax collector will know if it will be able to meet the 2009/2010 financial year target in April. The year ends in June.
The cumulative deficit now stands at sh70.69b, which is a performance rate of 97.48%.
There was also a shortfall of sh6.79b in gross domestic taxes. About sh162b was collected from this tax head against a target of sh169.5b.
The devalued Uganda shilling against the dollar led to an estimated revenue loss of sh19.28b.
The dollar exchange rate for February was projected at sh2,307 but the shilling performed at sh1,928 against the dollar.
The targets are set by the finance ministry on a monthly and annual basis.
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) got a revenue shortfall of sh29.4b last month. Announcing the month’s performance, Sarah Banage, the authority’s assistant commissioner for public and corporate affairs, explained that indirect taxes, mainly VAT and excise duty, declined as a result of underperformance of major sectors like electricity, bottled water, soft drinks and cement.
“The other major contributing sectors posted declines in sales, except for non-malt beer and spirits,†said Banage in a briefing at the URA head office in Nakawa.
Net revenue for February was sh310b against a target of sh339b, a performance of 91.36%.
Banage, however, said the performance will rebound in the next few months.
International trade had one of the biggest deficits at sh30.85b.
URA noted that the fualt in the Kenya pipeline interrupted the fuel supplyto Uganda, which led to a performance of only 81.49% for duty on petroleum products.
“Some importers had to load from Nairobi and Mombasa instead of Eldoret and Kisumu, which increases cost of transport and the turnaround time for products.â€
Banage, however, said the cumulative taxes from July 2009 to February this year increased to sh102.36b, which is a performance of 107.28%.
Despite the shortfall, the February performance surpassed the same period last year by 0.17%.
The tax collector will know if it will be able to meet the 2009/2010 financial year target in April. The year ends in June.
The cumulative deficit now stands at sh70.69b, which is a performance rate of 97.48%.
There was also a shortfall of sh6.79b in gross domestic taxes. About sh162b was collected from this tax head against a target of sh169.5b.
The devalued Uganda shilling against the dollar led to an estimated revenue loss of sh19.28b.
The dollar exchange rate for February was projected at sh2,307 but the shilling performed at sh1,928 against the dollar.
The targets are set by the finance ministry on a monthly and annual basis.