By Irene Kabakama
The Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) was launched to manage the issuance and centralized tracking of all e-receipts/ e-invoices by all taxpayers in order to improve their business efficiencies.
Unfortunately, the solution is still a challenge among some taxpayers like car dealers and importers. This group has been failing to issue invoices on transactions made, others have only been issuing invoices upon request while others failed to issue on real time.
These are some of the challenges that the URA team sought to solve as they met car dealers and importers recently.
During the engagement, Hafsah Seguya from URA’s Tax Literacy team encouraged the taxpayers to always issue e-invoices for all sales transactions in real time whether taxable or not and also whether on demand by the client or not. She assured them, that issuing fiscalised receipts and invoices would improve and simplify their experience with the system and also improve their tax compliance and avoid penalties.
“Please make full disclosure of all business transactions and correct declaration of all transactions at all times. Do not lump up sales and declare them as final consumers,” she explained.
David Rusoke, URA’s Manager Literacy, committed to continue supporting the bond owners including moving to their premises to hand-hold them.
“We realize everything is going digital and this comes with challenges. As a team we are ready to find you in your bonds and offices as long as you call on us to train, teach and guide you with your employees in case there is a hiccup so that you are able to comply,” Rusoke assured the bond owners.
The other point of contention was on delay of and sometimes rejection of credit notes. A credit note is an official document issued to a customer by a supplier when an earlier transaction needs to be cancelled or amended and by law it takes up to 5 days to be approved.
In response to this query, Henry Baguma, the URA Supervisor in Domestic Taxes, said that the delay was due to failure by business owners to attach relevant documents.
“You need to be elaborate and attach supporting documents describing the purchase to avoid delay. The credit notes take long to be approved or are even rejected because they have been found with errors,” he explained.
The writer is a URA Media Officer
