John R. Musinguzi, the URA Commissioner General
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioner General, John R. Musinguzi has called on Ugandans to explore alternative dispute resolution methods rather than courts especially on cases relating to tax.
He made the call during a recent webinar where he discussed URA’s domestic revenue mobilization strategies under the theme ‘COVID-19; Opportunity to thrive’
“We have also embraced alternative dispute resolution methods, other than use of courts of laws. We encourage those in court to come forward for alternative settlement; we shall follow the law, engage you and ensure compliance,” Musinguzi said.
He added that as URA, they have come up with a model to implement the Domestic Revenue Mobilization strategy.
“At the base of the pyramid, the foundation layer of governance, we have the organisation’s structures and policies which are emphatic on integrity, professionalism and patriotism,” he said.
He added that technology is another core area URA is emphasizing.
“It covers the tools, the platforms, the processes and so much more. URA is automating most of her processes to attain higher process efficiency. We have rolled out DTS (Digital Tax Stamps), EFRIS (Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution) and very soon we are automating the Rental Tax regime,” he noted, adding: “One of the things we were very quick at adopting as an organisation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic was automating most of our processes. Our clients can file, pay and do so much more from the confines of their homes, Offices or on the go!”
The greatest advantage that Digital Tax Stamps provide to the taxpayers is the ability to distinguish a fake product from a genuine product, he said.
“We have established while testing the DTS verification machines that the market has products that manufacturers do not know about,” he said.
Musinguzi added that URA is committed to a comprehensive Tax education strategy of ensuring that they create awareness, increase engagement and nurture Taxpayers into voluntary compliance.
In a separate interview, Ian Rumanyika, the Manager Public & Corporate Affairs at URA said Voluntary Disclosure occurs when a taxpayer comes forward to disclose their tax liabilities, misstatements or omissions in their tax declarations in order to return to a fully compliant status with respect to legal obligations.
“For a taxpayer to disclose voluntarily, he must not have been prompted by URA on that compliance matter such as: Initiation of a tax investigation; Request for tax information; Tax advisory letter; Tax health check notice of audit, tax query etc,” Rumanyika said.
