The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has issued a directive to manufacturers, suppliers, and vehicles entering the Kikuubo business area that, they will be the only ones required to present their e-receipts to check their compliance with the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS).

According to John R. Musinguzi, the Commissioner General of the authority, the policy replaces the previous practice where URA was inspecting all shops.

“Today, we have resolved an issue on EFRIS enforcement in Kikuubo area. Only manufacturers and suppliers entering the Kikuubo trading area will have to provide evidence of e-receipts while entering the premises,” Musinguzi said.

He added that, since not all people are merchants, URA cannot require e-receipts from everyone.

This decision was issued by Musinguzi in a meeting with Kikuubo business area traders.

According to him, URA would use this time to innovate and educate traders about taxes in order to get them ready to accept the system.

“We are going to start serious training on EFRIS. We have also developed an EFRIS mobile application that is going to be used by every person using a smartphone. After enough sensitization, we can now enroll everyone on EFRIS,” Musinguzi added.

Musinguzi, however, urged traders who are already enrolled in EFRIS to continue using the system.

“We call upon both big and small shops to be open-minded and try its usage. With EFRIS, there won’t be guesswork, its assessment is based on facts,” he emphasized.

Through John Kabanda, the President of the New Generation Kampala Dealers Association, the traders consented to utilize the main gate for the purpose of complying with tax laws. They were grateful to URA for hearing them out and reaching a mutually agreeable resolution.

EFRIS is an initiative under the Domestic Revenue Mobilization Program whose aim is to address the tax administration challenges relating to business transactions and issuance of receipts.