EFRIS is here to stay. Goobi tells off protesting Traders

Ramathan Goobi - PSST {Photo credit - file}

By Jose Kabale

The Permanent Secretary, also Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Goobi has assured the traders that the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) is not about to be suspended because it's legal.

Goobi said this during the media brief of the state of economy and the fourth quarter expenditure release for the financial year 2023/2024 at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development conference hall in Kampala today.

Last Monday, business activities in downtown Kampala, particularly in the Kikuubo hub, were disrupted as some traders opted to close their shops in protest over various concerns regarding business concerns that include issues with tax policy and administration, particularly the 18 % VAT imposed on every sold commodity and the enforcement of the electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), which traders allege it lacks sufficient sensitization among the business community.
While speaking at the media briefing about the State of the economy and the fourth quarter expenditure release for the financial year 2023/2024 earlier today, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury {PSST} of the Ministry of Finance Ramathan Goobi acknowledged that traders are frowning at EFRIS because it shall not give them opportunities of evading taxes. He added that the taxation policy is here to stay to ensure taxation compliance amongst the business community.

"The EFRIS looks at the supply side and the demand side of the entire ecosystem of a transaction, and therefore, I would like to encourage all of us to know that EFRIS has come and it's going to stay to ensure that we know how much we have earned from a transaction and know if it's exactly what we have declared..." said Goobi.

While as he accused Ugandans of assisting foreign investors to establish retail businesses which is contrary to their immigration work permits, Goobi disclosed the government's commitment to deal with the issue.

" We're going to get to the bottom of this with facts, those foreigners who have been vending things through others we have means now of getting them. Because we have beneficial ownership of companies. " Added Goobi.

By press time, this news site learnt that city traders under their umbrella Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) and the Federation of Uganda Traders Association (FUTA) have yet again resolved to protest next Monday. This follows unprecedented cancelation of the meeting between the traders and the President on Friday. However, the Minister for Kampala Capital City Minsa Kabanda, has implored the traders not to protest as she works on new meeting date with the president.

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