Jigar Chandarana, a director of Wellex Hardware Ltd., and
two other individuals were found guilty and sentenced to prison by the Kololo
Anti-Corruption Court for generating and selling false invoices.
Wellex Hardware Ltd., situated in Bwaise, Kawempe division,
along Bombo Road, Kampala, was accused of producing fraudulent invoices with
the intention of defrauding. This was brought up in court on Wednesday, June
14. The hardware shop largely offers building goods.
According to the Uganda Revenue Authority, the intelligence
community is working constantly to catch anybody suspected of committing such
tax infractions.
The nation's tax collector professes to be alert and has so
established a number of techniques to counteract the vice. According to URA, it
mostly focuses on intelligence-led efforts, and as a consequence, numerous
made-up businesses have been identified.
According to URA, it is alert and has therefore established
a number of strategies to fight the vice. According to URA, it mostly focuses
on intelligence-led efforts, and as a consequence, numerous made-up businesses
have been identified.
Izimba Aaron, a 44-year-old accountant and director of
Izimba & Company Certified Public Accountants, was one of seven firms
recently caught up in dubious activities such as invoice swapping.
Stuart Aheebwa, the Supervisor of Litigation at URA, claimed
that owing to his conduct, which included fabricating trade invoices and
exploiting some of his clients' Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), a tax loss
of UGX 2.8 billion was incurred. Izimba is also accused of making transactions
on behalf of some of his clients while modifying the passwords for their TINs.
The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Act, 2022's Section
62H(c) says that it is a criminal for a taxpayer to make a false or misleading
statement in the information return.
If found guilty, the offense carries a maximum penalty of
2500 currency points for each day of noncompliance, a maximum term of 10 years
in prison, or both. A currency point is worth 20,000 UGX.
The most recent operations take place at a time when URA has
already initiated a campaign to urge all taxpayers to collect receipts at the
moment of purchase.
Mr. John Musinguzi Rujoki, Commissioner General of URA,
indicated that the new program is part of the government's push towards
self-sustenance and minimizing borrowing to support the budget. He noted that
it would also assist firms improve their record-keeping since the receipts will
offer an accurate picture of the amounts of products and services supplied to
customers. The program was inaugurated at URA headquarters in Kampala last
week.
"The purpose of this program is to develop a culture of
accountability and record-keeping, which are vital components for the growth
and success of any economy. For us to comprehend the progress of our company
and clients, we need accurate data. As you are aware, preserving records has
not been a part of Ugandan culture, said Musinguzi.
According to the Commissioner General, the new campaign will
help the Authority be more accountable for the taxes it is collecting since the
new computerized system will inform URA on the commodities being sold by all
firms, and there won't be a need to submit taxes moving forward as there is
today.
He also noted that despite the introduction of electronic
tax payments in 2020, there has been a poor reception of the technology, which
he ascribed to some enterprises' incapacity to purchase the equipment required
by URA to compute their taxes.
Some firms lack the cash to acquire electronic gear, or if
they have, they opt to spend the money on other things besides technology.
Therefore, as URA, we are striving to find a solution to this issue without
asking that these firms spend money on equipment that they had not planned for,
according to Musinguzi.
