By Irene Kabakama
Recently, URA met with taxpayers who hold gross payment accounts (GPAs) to deliberate on the challenges facing the implementation of this facility.
A GPA is an importer’s account used to deposit lump-sum amounts before customs declarations are captured. It is created and maintained in the Asycuda World, a customs management system that covers most foreign trade procedures. Deposits to this account are paid on PRNs generated from the URA portal.
Currently, when a customs declaration is submitted by a taxpayer, the payable tax is deducted from the respective GPA automatically.
The GPA facility has various advantages for taxpayers, including enabling bulk importers to fit within the statutory time frames provided by the Kenya Revenue Authority for entering (10 days) and exiting cargo (14 days) from the port, enabling an automatic and seamless reconciliation and refund mechanism for taxes over or underpaid, and allowing the processing of lump sum approvals before the arrival of the goods, among others.
For URA, this facility enables the timely and effective collection of revenue, especially from large companies that operate lengthy financial controls and approval procedures. In the last two financial years, URA has collected over Ugx 7.3 trillion through GPAs.
This arrangement is, however, being challenged by omissions during data migration from Asycuda World to E-hub and the fact that ASYCUDA GPA reports do not indicate opening or closing balances.
During the meeting, it was agreed that URA would develop an Asycuda world report indicating entry numbers and receipt numbers to enable the accrual accounting system for GPA utilization. Additionally, GPA accounts will be audited on a quarterly basis, and unutilized funds will be reported as liabilities.
Abel Kagumire, Commissioner of Customs at URA, noted that the authority plans to engage the Bank of Uganda on the prospect of creating special accounts for GPA holders.
“We shall hold another engagement with bankers to discuss creating accounts for you and giving us an agent to work with,” Kagumire added.
