The thought of handcuffed wrists and penalties that come with engaging in tax fraud schemes is one of the least worries for some criminals. Fadhil Tibaingana, an accountant andDirector of Kintt Softwares & Technologies Ltd is one of them.
He was arrested and arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court Division in Kololo on Tuesday 14th March 2023 for continually involving in invoice trading. He was found guilty and remanded to Luzira prison on eight counts of making false statements to a tax officer contrary to Section 58(1)(a) of the Tax Procedures Code Act, 2014.
According to a source who preferred anonymity, Kintt Softwares & Technologies Ltd is part of a chain of taxpayers that are culprits for invoice trading and other tax related crimes. Tibaingana ’s criminal activities have caused the government a loss of taxes worth UGX. 1,657,030,148 in VAT.
Denis Kugonza, the Commissioner of Tax Investigations encourages all taxpayers to always comply and avoid any dealings with unscrupulous individuals.
“Most of these problems can be avoided by dealing with accredited tax consultants and certified accountants. Uganda has a number of unqualified accountants that are willing to take your money if you do not take due diligence to cross check who you are dealing with,” he warned.
Meanwhile, invoice Trading takes place when a tax payer issues invoices to a person they have not sold goods to or claims purchases of supplies they have not actually bought thus using the fictitious invoices to evade payment of proper taxes. As a result of this, URA loses revenue where the taxpayer’s VAT liability is reduced through fictious claims.
Additional Reporting by Immaculate Wanyenze
