Traders have called on the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to improve collaboration with sister agencies to reduce process delays and improve service delivery.
During the recently concluded UMA trade fair, URA’s stakeholder relations team engaged participants on the challenges affecting their tax compliance and how the tax body can improve the service experience for taxpayers.
Adelaide Mulo, the Customer Service Manager at Nice House of Plastics, called on URA to be more accommodating during Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) downtimes, which she said disrupt business transactions and can lead to involuntary non-compliance.
Mulo challenged URA to improve inter-agency collaboration, particularly with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), noting that businesses are caught in the middle of fragmented processes between the two agencies.
“When the agencies don’t coordinate, it feels like a burden on businesses. We need harmonization of compliance processes,” she emphasized.
Similarly, Allan Kibirige, the General Manager of Peacock Paints, urged URA to “draw closer to the taxpayer” by improving the attitude of its officers. He said many businesses feel intimidated when dealing with URA staff, describing them as “aggressive,” a dynamic that has led to resentment and fear among taxpayers.
“This kind of interaction makes businesses feel like enemies of the URA rather than contributors to national development,” Kibirige said.
Kibirige also highlighted delays in issuing Tax Clearance Certificates (TCCs), even when company ledgers are clean. He called for better communication when issues arise, to avoid unnecessary delays that can stall business operations.
Echoing these sentiments, Samuel from MTN Uganda raised concerns over the delayed refund process, particularly for payments made to the wrong Payment Registration Numbers (PRNs) or double payments.
“These refunds take painfully long. URA should be more transparent about the turnaround time,” he said.
URA’s Manager, Stakeholder Management, Julian Sabiiti, responded to the growing list of concerns, assuring stakeholders that their feedback would be taken seriously and shared with the relevant departments for redress.
“This engagement is exactly why we are here,” said Sabiiti. “We are committed to creating a more responsive, transparent, and efficient tax administration system.”
