URA shuts down K2 Telecom over sh94m debt

 

By Ali Twaha

 

KAMPALA - The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has shutdown Buganda Kingdom's owned K2 Telecom over failure to remit pay as you earn (PAYE) and local excise duty amounting to nearly sh94m.

 

The closure of their head offices at Muganzilwaza Complex building, according to Ian Rumayika, the manager public and corporate affairs at URA, follows default on its tax obligations for the last four years.

 

"K2 telecom was closed last week. It has a debt of PAYE amounting to over sh77.8m and of course, it also has a debt of local excise duty, sh17m. In total, it is about 95.8m," Rumayika said.

 

"We have had a long discussion with K2 Telecom from 2013 to 2018 until we realised that the memorandum of understanding that we had was not being respected as expected.

 

"So we had to close it last week and we expect them to come back on the discussiontable and probably clear the debt so that we allow them to operate again,"Rumayika explained.

 

Miraim Kiwanuka, the board chairman of K2 telecom could not respond to calls by press time

 

K2 Telecom was established in January 2013. It offers voice calls, sms and internet data services.

 

The competition in Uganda's telecom industry is characterised by cut throat price wars which has hardly left room for new players to penetrate the market.

 

This month, Afrimax Group, which received rights to operate under the global Vodafone brand announced that the company is going under liquidation after efforts by Donald Nyakairu, the court appointed a provisional administration which could not breathe new life into the troubled company.