Uganda Revenue Authority on Thursday officially unveiled a new campaign that is hoped to promote the issuance of electronic receipts and invoices.
The Mpa E-receipt Yange campaign is running under the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution, a solution that is intended to support value-added tax (VAT) registered taxpayers.
Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi said at the launch that this initiative is meant to cultivate a culture of accountability and record keeping.
“These are two important ingredients for any business to succeed and any economy to develop. We need to have accurate records for us to know the growth of our business and for us consumers to know how much we are spending on what activity,” he said.
Mr. Musinguzi explained that the final consumer is not required to provide a tax identification number to get an e-receipt from the seller.
“It is a lame excuse for the seller to require a TIN from a buyer, a TIN is not necessary for the final consumer. However, for e-invoice, a TIN is a requirement,” said Mr. Musinguzi.
EFRIS is a new smart business solution that is used to record business transactions and share information with URA in real-time. It involves the use of e-Invoicing through the URA web portal and direct communication with business transaction systems (system-to-system connection), electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs), and Electronic Dispenser Controllers (EDCs) to manage the issuance of e-receipts and e-invoices.
The Mpa E-Receipt Yange campaign will be activated in the districts of Hoima, Arua, Gulu, Lira, Mbale, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, Fortportal, and Kampala where different prizes will be won including a fully paid six-day safari for two in Uganda, motorcycles, fridges, and laptops among others.
Participants can also download a “Mpa E-receipt Yange” app on the Play Store and Appstore, and register to participate.
URA noted that the more receipts uploaded on the portal the more chances one has to win.
Mr. Musinguzi called upon all final consumers to always demand their e-receipts which inform them of their fair share of taxes contributed to the national confers.
The Commissioner General also appealed to businesses to get on EFRIS for better record keeping and management of their transactions and applauded taxpayers who are already using EFRIS technology in their businesses.