In a bid to enhance revenue collection, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has launched a new tax-collecting campaign dubbed "MpaEreceiptYange" which is geared towards promoting the issuance of electronic receipts and invoice
The initiative is aimed at popularizing the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution(EFRIS).
EFRIS is an initiative under the domestic revenue mobilization programme whose aim is to address the tax administration challenges relating to business transactions and issuance of receipts.
It is a smart business solution used to record business transactions and share the information with the tax body in real time (concurrently).
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.
Once a transaction is initiated using any of the EFRIS' components, transaction details are automatically transmitted to URA in real time (concurrently) to generate e-receipts and e-invoices.
Speaking to the media in Kampala, URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi appealed to the taxpayers that asking for the e-receipt is evidence that particular transaction that has been made paid VAT.
The commissioner general said the uptake of EFRIS has been low because people who are supposed to ask for the receipts have not been sensitized.
He told the Nile Post that the tax body is looking at the VAT registered businesses for proper management of the rollout.
"We started as compulsory requirement for VAT registered taxpayers but we will roll out to other businesses whether they have registered for VAT or not because we are using this to monitor VAT which is paid by every consumer," he said.
Kampala City Traders' Association(KACITA) chairman, Thaddeus Musoke said they have entered a partnership with URA to sensitize their members and to enhance their compliance and accountability.
"We are fully embracing this initiative and we encourage our traders to embrace compliance," he said.
Benefits of EFRIS
Refund claims using e-receipts or e-invoices shall be fast-tracked given that the information shall be available in the system.
This is a step in enabling URA avail taxpayers with prefilled tax returns in future to minimize delays and costs involved in filing tax returns.
This is because URA provides a report of the taxpayer's transactional data on sales and purchases through the tax period which the taxpayer either confirms or modifies to include additional information
Prefilled tax returns will help taxpayers avoid penalties for late or non-filing
Taxpayers will be in position to track and validate business transactions in real time for efficient business management. (Proper bookkeeping and sales management)
The solution eliminates the risk of physical loss of tax invoices as transactional data or copies are digitally stored in the system
Fair assessments of taxpayers' tax positions reduce unfair competition in business.
Refund claims using e-receipts or e-invoices shall be fast-tracked given that all the required information shall be available in the system
How does EFRIS work?
When a sale is made, transactional details are captured in the seller's invoicing system (ERP) or point of sale, encrypted and transmitted to URA in real time to generate e-receipts and e-invoices.
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Upon receipt of the transactional details, EFRIS decrypts the data and formats it into an e-receipt or e-invoice by attaching key features like the fiscal document number (receipt or invoice number), a verification code, a quick response (QR) code among others.
EFRIS then encrypts the fiscal (financial) data and transmits it back to the seller's system. At this point, the e-receipt or e-invoice can be printed. The entire process is very quick and should not affect printing of the e-receipt and invoice for customers.
All persons registered with URA have an EFRIS account and can access it with their registered TIN and password. An OTP (one-time password) is sent to the user's active email address or telephone number. A taxpayer is expected to register to use the solution for their daily business operations.
