COSASE Grills URA Commissioner General Over UnTaxed Gold Exports

Parliament of Uganda has grilled the Tax collecting body Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioners and summoned Minister of Finance Hon Matia Kasaija with Hon Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development over their failure to make timely regulations on collections of gold tax which saw Government lose out revenue to a tune of Shs47Bn from gold exporters. 

The summons were issued by COSASE following a concern raised by Office Attorney General in the December 2023 report, where Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) was faulted for failure to collect taxes on 70,837.91Kgs of gold exports valued at around Shs47Bn.

The Nakaseke Central Legislator, Hon Allan Mayanja also asked URA to explain why 22 mineral categories were exported without assessment noting, “The Auditor General noted the absence of tax assessment and payment, on exportation of certain minerals and they are declaring of Shs72.49Bn, where 22 mineral categories were exported without any assessment. We need to know the 22 mineral categories that were exported without assessment and payment of the resultant taxes.” He said.

John Musinguzi, The Commissioner General, Uganda Revenue Authority responded, “Our first correspondence on the matter was on 26th June 2023 and in this letter, we alerted the Minister of Finance that come 30th June, the current statutory instrument will expire and we sought her guidance on how to collect from 1st July, we didn’t get the response.” Musinguzi’s response prompted Sssegona to ask why after receiving all these letters, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development kept quiet, prompting him to issue summons for the two Ministers to come and explain the mystery behind the gold tax debacle.

                                                                                URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi

This prompted Hon Medard Ssegona (Busiro East) to ask for the time frame of the gold exports without taxation.  “For how long have been these people exporting without paying taxes? We have been having a law which has been having gaps, where were you? Because we have had gold for as long as Uganda has existed, we have been mining for as long as I have lived. So we haven’t been collecting taxes on our minerals, the most precious gift we have from God, and other people go, mint money and they sell back to us, for them, they don’t pay taxes, where were you?” He asked.

                                      COSASE Chairperson Hon Medard Lubega Ssegona (Busiro East MP)

Abel Kagumire, Commissioner of Customs at URA told the Committee that at the URA had no law to impose the gold tax because the law enacted by Parliament didn’t specify what is processed gold and what isn’t processed gold. He added that despite the initial instrument expiring in June 2023, it wasn’t until recently on 14th May 2024 that URA was issued with another statutory instrument to resume collection of gold tax.

“We informed the Auditor that we didn’t have an enabling law at that time because the Mining and Minerals Act 2022 that imposed 10% levy on unprocessed minerals didn’t specify what is processed minerals and what is unprocessed minerals. So at that time, we were waiting for an enabling law to come into place and that is why the Commissioner General, wrote to the Minister of Finance who later wrote to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development. We just got it on 14th May 2024, that is when we got the statutory instrument signed by the Minister,” explained Kagumire.