Car importer protests against URA closure

Chatha Investments Limited lawyer Annitah Tusiimire (L) and the public relations officer, Ms Nshemy Puddy Butamanya, address journalists in Kampala last Friday. PHOTO BY Joseph Kiggundu

Kampala. A car importing firm has protested against the manner in which it was closed by Uganda Revenue Authority over allegedly failing to remit taxes.
Chatha Investments Limited was last Tuesday closed by URA over tax arrears totalling Shs242 million but was opened hours after a protest from the company.
However, the firm’s lawyer, Ms Annitah Tusiimire, said URA closed the car depot at Nakawa in violation of a payment arrangement that was running until January next year.
“We are not at war with URA and we are not tax defaulters. Whatever was done was a personal arrangement resulting from miscommunication,” Ms Tusiimire told journalists in Kampala last Friday.
She revealed that on August 5, URA wrote to Chatha Investments, indicating the company’s request to pay an outstanding liability in 18 installments had been granted. The letter indicated that the firm was to pay interest of Shs17, 258,913 for the late payment of tax.
Ms Tusiimire, therefore, wondered why URA acted in this way.
However, the URA manager in charge of debt collection, Mr Abdusaalam Waiswa, said they intervened after the company failed to comply with the letter. “The company staff kept telling us that the directors were out of the country until we closed and immediately the money was paid which is what we needed,” said Mr Waiswa in a telephone interview.