In recognition of the current situation regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the businesses community and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) services, it is essential that all Ugandans adhere to the Guidelines issued by President Yoweri Museveni and the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of the Virus.
To ensure the safety of taxpayers and staff, URA under the leadership of Doris Akol (pictured), the tax body’s Commissioner General is making changes to the way they offer services.
Henceforth, URA has instituted the following measures of a tax administration nature to support taxpayers in meeting their obligations:
1) Filing Returns
a) Taxpayers whose accounting date is in September and are unable to file Corporation Tax returns by 31st March, 2020 have been granted an extension to file returns. The new due date for filing has been extended by a period of two (2) months to May, 2020. All penalties related to late submission of these returns shall be remitted if the returns are filed on or before 31st May, 2020.
b) Taxpayers whose returns for March, 2020 are due by the 15th of April 2020 and are unable to file are granted an extension to file. The new due date for filing is 30th April, 2020.
This is in relation to the following tax types:
a) Value Added Tax (VAT)
b) Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
c) Local Excise Duty
d) Withholding Tax
e) Taxes under the Lotteries and Gaming Act
c. Penalties for late filing of tax returns for February, 2020 that were due on 15th March, 2020, shall be remitted if the returns are filed on or before 31st March, 2020. This in relation to the following tax types:
a) Value Added Tax (VAT)
b) Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
c) Local Excise Duty
d) Withholding Tax
e) Taxes under the Lotteries and Gaming Act
2) Payment of taxes under Installment arrangements
Taxpayers who executed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and who have payments due in the months of March and April, 2020 will have the option to defer and reschedule these payments.
The terms of the MOU will accordingly be restructured for the payments to be resumed in May 2020. This provision will apply to taxpayers whose businesses have been affected by Government Directives on COVID-19 and who are unable to meet their obligations during the period.
The Taxpayers should however note that this is not a waiver or write off, the outstanding taxes will still be paid in full in accordance with the provisions of the law.
3) Voluntary disclosure
A Taxpayer who makes any voluntary disclosure during the months of March and April, 2020 and pays the principal tax therein, shall have their penalty and interest remitted in accordance with the law.
4) Border Stations
All Customs border stations shall remain open to facilitate movement of cargo subject to the Customs laws and guidelines.
5) Customs Warehouses
All Customs warehouses will remain functional to allow clearance of cargo subject to the Customs Guidelines.
6) Use of online services
As communicated in the Public Notice published on 20th March 2020, we encourage the use of our online services. We remain available to offer services that cannot be accessed online.
7) For inquiries and feedback: please contact us via the following platforms
a) Email: services@ura.go.ug
b) Toll free lines: Call 0800117000 or 0800217000 or 0417444602 (Non-toll free)
c) Website: http://ura.go.ug
d) Social media: Facebook – URApage | Twitter – @URAuganda
e) Customs: URA Customs Help Tool – https://help.ura.go.ug/login for customs transactions and correspondences
8) For registration and Returns: Please use our web portal – http://ura.go.ug
9) For payments: URA advises the public to use the following payment options;
a) Online banking/EFT/RTGS
b) Agency banking
c) VISA/MasterCard for Stanbic Bank, ABSA and UBA
d) PayWay services across the country
e) Mobile money (MTN and Airtel)
10) Taxpayers are encouraged to submit any physical documents using our electronic channels.
Uganda Revenue Authority on behalf of the Government of Uganda expresses its appreciation to all taxpayers for paying their taxes and enabling our emergency services to operate.
We urge the Public to remain calm and adhere to all guidelines from the Ministry of Health in preventing further.
