By Joshua Niyonshima,
“Today we are with our supervisors from parliament to show them some of our operations, and in this instance, digital tax stamps,” said Ibrahim Bbossa, Assistant Commissioner of Public and Corporate Affairs at the Uganda Revenue Authority(URA). Stakeholder engagement is URA’s new way of fostering tax compliance and ensuring better policy interventions, Bbossa shared.
URA, together with the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, made courtesy visits to Harris International Ltd. and Nile Breweries Ltd.
Speaking to the Committee, the country director of Nile Breweries, Adu Rando, said that the conducive investment climate in Uganda has enabled the wide expansion of their businesses.
“In 2017, 66.7% of our production was using locally manufactured goods. In the FY 2022/2023, 99.8% of Nile Breweries products come from locally produced raw materials. We have attracted investment in wheat and sorghum, trained farmers, and are willing to do more,” he said.
In a separate meeting with Harris International, the Chief Finance Officer, Mahdi Mshaimesh, called for a massive crackdown on non-compliant manufacturers, especially in local areas. He asked URA to invest in fighting tax crime.
“I am speaking about criminals who declare ethanol for industrial use and end up selling it to the population. It is sold cheaply, harms the population, and evades tax. Let those dealing in manufacturing formalize their businesses and pay tax.”
Hon. Paul Omara, Member of Parliament for Otuke constituency, sought clarity on how the prices of DTS are set and who bears the cost of DTS.
Bbossa responded, saying, “Uganda has a contract with SICPA; therefore, once the volumes of users of digital tax stamps increase, the price will also reduce. So, the decrease you have seen is a result of more companies that have adopted the use of digital tax stamps.”
According to the URA database, DTS were rolled out in November 2019, a tax stamp for beer was 55 Uganda shillings. Currently, it is 35 UGX, whereas a soft drink bottle was 20 UGX, but now manufacturers are paying 17 UGX.
The Dokolo North Member of Parliament, Ogwal Moses Goli, fortified URA to devise means of fostering domestic production of digital tax stamps to save taxpayers from bearing the cost and promote maximum consumption of local products.
