The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) registered a 14.9% revenue growth in the Financial Year 2020/21, the highest in the last four financial years.
However, the revenue growth still fell short of the government target for the 2020/2021 financial year.
Mr John Musinguzi Rujoki, the URA Commissioner General, on Thursday revealed that they collected Shs19.2 trillion in 2020/2021, a 14.9% revenue growth compared to the FY2019/20.
Of this, domestic revenue collections were Shs12.14 trillion, registering a growth of 13.71% in comparison to FY 2019/20.
Mr Musinguzi said this is the highest growth registered in the last four financial years. In the FY2017/18 the growth was at Shs1.7 trillion, in FY2018/19 it was Shs2.1Tn, and Shs134Bn.
“Despite the pandemic this financial year, we were able to grow the revenue collection and this is a commendable job,” he said.
URA, however, did not hit the Shs21.6Tn target that was set by Parliament, falling short by Shs2.3Tn.
Mr Musinguzi noted that this target was approved by Parliament before the impact of Covid-19 set in and macroeconomic variables that affect revenue like GDP growth were projected at 6% yet by the end of financial year the GDP growth was at 3%.
The wholesale and retail trade sector had the biggest contribution to the tax revenue, which amounted to Shs5.783 trillion (29.43%). The manufacturing sector followed with a contribution of UGX 4.461.29 trillion (22.70%).
The significant 14.9% growth, Musinguzi said, is attributed to Debt Recovery of Shs1.02Tn which is mainly attributed to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) which contributed Shs365Bn, the voluntary disclosure, close monitoring of MOUs for installment payments and enforcement mechanisms.
“The implementation of the Digital Tracking Solutions (DTS) and the Electronic Fiscal Receipting Solution (EFRIS) boosted performance. For example, DTS contributed to the 16.89% growth in Excuse Duty Collections by aiding enforcement and tracking of locally manufactured and imported goods,” he said adding,
“EFRIS contributed to the 14.7% growth in VAT collections through relaying real time taxpayer transaction details to URA, thereby minimizing under reporting of VAT collected from consumers. It should be noted that both technologies are still being rolled out and not yet fully enforced,” he said.
He further noted that the tax administration front growth in revenue is attributed to the quick response by revamping the online services like; different payments modes, online taxpayer education campaigns like KAKASA and improved contact Center, fast clearance of refunds among others.
“Customs collection grew by 16.3% mainly due to growth in imports by 37.3% in FY2020/21 compared to FY2019/20 because of global reopening of economies and supply chain,” he noted
The new tax administration measures including EFRIS, DTS, Scanners, Debt Recovery GPS and Use of Data Analysis, he said yielded a revenue of Shs1.1Tn against the target Shs548Bn indicating a 202.7% performance.
Domestically, URA collected Shs12.1Tn, registering a 13.7% growth (Shs1M.4Tn) compared to the FY2019/20. These collections were however below the Shs14Tn by Shs1.8Tn.
“On this, Pay as You Earn (PAYE) contributed Shs3.1Tn, Value Added Tax (VAT) contributed Shs2.9Tn, Corporate Tax Shs1.5Tn, Local Exercise Duty (LED) Shs1.4Tn, Withholding Tax Shs1.1Tn and Others contributed Shs1.8Tn,” he said.