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URA rejects call to extend e-receipts January deadline
URA Commissioner General John Rujoki Musinguzi. PHOTO/ FILE
What you need to know:
- The first phase which, according to URA, would seek full enforcemenet by October 1, was extended after some manufacturers and taxpayers experienced challenges in integrating their systems while others were not able to fly in their technical teams to support the integration due to the lockdown.
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has rejected a proposal in which manufacturers had asked the tax agency to extend the deadline for implementation of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System.
In a letter dated December 7, URA Commissioner General John Rujoki Musinguzi, notified manufacturers they would implement the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System effective January 1, 2021, warning manufacturers who would not have put in place supporting infrastructure of dire consequences.
However, manufacturers under Uganda Manufacturers Association had expressed worry, noting many members had no resources to put in place the infrastructure at a time when their operations and revenues have been disrupted by Covid-19.
On Tuesday Mr Simon Kaheru, who has been representing UMA on the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System technical working group, said URA should consider extending the implementation date by at least three months, noting: “Operations are going to be affected. For instance, large manufacturers will be required to do invoice entries manually, which is impossible if they don’t hire large teams.”
However, in an email on Tuesday, Mr Ian Rumanyika, the URA public and corporate affairs manager, said they would commence enforcement for the use of Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System for valued added tax registered taxpayers as scheduled.
“There will not be any extension after this. We thank those that have already registered and we would like to encourage them to continue using the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System by issuing fiscalised receipts and invoices,” he said.
The Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System is part of the Domestic Revenue Mobilisation Strategy (2019-24) in which all businesses shall be required to manage the issuance of e-receipts and e-invoices.
The system is designed to improve business efficiencies and reduce the cost of compliance through improved record keeping, ability to track and authenticate business transactions in real time, fast-tracking payment of refund claims, elimination of the risk of physical loss of tax invoices as well as enabling URA to avail taxpayers with prefilled tax returns to minimise delays and costs involved in filling tax returns.
