The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement and compliance team has collected UGX 6.8 billion within one week of using the Digital Tracking System (DTS) and the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) within Kampala central business district.
According to Sandra Kaitare, the Assistant Commissioner of the Petroleum and Mining Division in charge of overseeing these operations, the staggering sum comes from accounts of penalties levied on defaulters in both systems.
“Our focus is on EFRIS, since we want taxpayers registered for VAT to issue invoices in the hope that we will be able to increase revenue collections in regards to VAT,” Kaitare said.
She said that the DTS enforcement intentions are to ensure that all manufacturers and producers activate the stamp and actually use it.
“If the stamps are not activated and utilised, it’s as good as not putting anything there in the first place, yet the goal is to make sure all products available on the market are properly stamped,” Kaitare added.
Kaitare warned that all VAT tax payers that defy will be required to pay UGX 6 million charged once a month, from individuals to businesses.
As for DTS, should the products not be stamped, the manufacturer is penalised, and products are seized until they are properly stamped.
The penalty for failure to stamp and activate the DTS is UGX 50 million, unlike that of the invoice, which attracts punishment once a month.
Failure to stamp products attracts a fine each time unstamped goods are seen on all the streets, even if they belong to a specific company,” Kaitare noted.
She further added that the processor of the products without a stamp is also liable to pay a fine of UGX 50 million.
She emphasised that the only obligation of the processor of the products is to make sure the products bought have a DTS stamp; this aims at achieving tax payer compliance.
The URA tax education team from last year has been sensitising taxpayers about EFRIS and DTS, the benefits of compliance, and the impending consequences of non-compliance.
