The Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) has urged government to sit down with traders to resolve the dispute over the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS).
The dispute has led traders in the city centre and other parts of the country to close their shops.
Addressing the media, Deo Kayemba, the chairman of UMA said they strongly believe in engagement and therefore these matters can be resolved expeditious through open dialogue with the relevant stakeholders.
“The trade sector should be given a moratorium up to 30th June 2024 to allow them run down their stock that may have come in without complying with the new EFRIS,” Kayemba said.
UMA suggested that the ministry of Finance should drop EFRIS related penalties that were issued against all traders and manufacturers to enable the trade and manufacturing sector to start from a new page in the financial year, 2024/25.
Kayemba said that while EFRIS has advantages such as widening the tax base and formalising the economy, there is need for more sensitization about the system.
“There is high handedness on penalty yet the implementation still has some challenges that must be addressed on both sides (the tax payers and URA),” he said.
The body said it does not agree with some of the new tax policies such as varying the specific duty rates applicable to some tariff lines of textile.
“For transparency and certainty, customs values on the basis of the basis which tax is computed should be standardized for a period of at least 90 days and be published widely for information to the trade sector,” he said.
President Museveni is today scheduled to meet traders and URA officials to find solutions to their problems.
