President Museveni Suspends EFRIS penalties With Immediate Effect-Traders Agree To Call Off The Strike

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday agreed to meet the leaders of traders from Kampala and other districts at statehouse Entebbe following a five-day business closure by traders protesting multiple taxation through the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), a system introduced by URA to aid in tax collection.

Traders led by Joh Kabanda the leader of the foundation of Uganda's Traders Association (FUTA) and Dr.Thadeus Musoke the chairman of Kampala City Traders Association(KACITA) raised several issues to the President among which include: The tax on textiles calculated based on kilograms is high, Manufacturers who engage in wholesale and retail leave no room for traders to do business, resulting in unfair trade, The Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) which they claim is not suitable for most of them and when they don't use it they are penalized and the threshold for Value Added Tax (VAT), which is currently an annual turnover of Shs 150m, which they say should be increased.

In response to the traders' concerns, the President suspended EFRIS with immediate effect.

''In the meantime, I have directed that the Uganda Revenue Authority(URA) refrain from issuing penalties and recovering any penalties that have already been issued, but taxpayers must continue to pay their taxes as usual. It is good they have agreed to open up their businesses as we continue to find solutions to the issues raised''. The president ordered.

The President also asked the traders to give him time to research more and consult the technocrats on all the concerns they raised and will then meet them all on 7th May 2024, at Kololo to discuss further.

''Must we continue to cause a hemorrhage of the little that we have made through agriculture and other sectors by sending our money outside? Uganda should not be a supermarket for other countries''. The president said.