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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2023 |
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30 December 2023 |
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A taxpayer's submitted financial statements and tax returns can establish interest payment, rendering the appellant liable for withholding tax.
Tax law – withholding tax on interest to non-residents – timing of liability (when interest paid) – evidentiary weight of financial statements and filed tax returns – contra proferentum and estoppel in tax reviews – High Court limited to questions of law but may reappraise where Tribunal errs on evidence.
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29 December 2023 |
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Costs follow the event; sovereign immunity does not bar taxation where participation was involuntary.
Civil procedure – taxation of costs – costs follow the event; sovereign/jurisdictional immunity – constructive waiver and involuntary participation; party capacity – liability for costs of wrongly joined parties; court’s discretion under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act.
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29 December 2023 |
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An administrative ruling cannot displace the statutory primacy of the transaction value method for customs valuation; appeal dismissed.
Customs valuation – EACCMA s.122 and Fourth Schedule – transaction value is primary; fallback method residuary; administrative rulings cannot alter statutory hierarchy; delegated instrument ultra vires to extent of inconsistency; requirement to assess genuineness of import documents; arbitrary uplift of declared value unlawful.
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29 December 2023 |
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VAT liability can predate registration and estoppel cannot bar the tax authority from assessing pre-registration VAT.
VAT Act s6(2) – VAT liability may predate registration; Tax Procedure Code Act s23(2)(a) – additional assessments after audit; Estoppel – equity cannot override clear taxing statutes; Tax Appeals Tribunal appeals – High Court limited to questions of law.
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29 December 2023 |
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22 December 2023 |
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Court granted conditional pre-judgment relief to prevent asset dissipation, protecting statutory gaming bond from immediate attachment.
Order 40 CPR – Attachment before judgment; statutory security bonds – limited to tax/employee/participant claims under Lotteries and Gaming Act s.40(2); prima facie requirement and risk of asset dissipation; court discretion to order freezing of funds or require security; regulator not liable to furnish security.
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22 December 2023 |
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An application to set aside an arbitral award was dismissed as time-barred; the award was recognized and enforced as a court decree.
Arbitration — setting aside award — time limit under s.34(3) — 30 days runs from date award delivered at agreed registry. Arbitration and Conciliation Act — specific code — excludes reliance on general procedural statutes for time computation. Enforcement — where time to set aside has lapsed, award may be recognized and enforced as a court decree under s.36. Court declines to consider substantive grounds where application is time-barred.
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20 December 2023 |
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Application to set aside ex parte judgment and stay execution dismissed for ineffective excuse and lack of sufficient cause.
Civil procedure – Order 9 Rule 27 – setting aside ex parte judgment; service deemed effective where counsel refuses receipt; sufficient cause vs good cause; counsel negligence not automatically excusing client; Order 22 Rules 23 & 26 – stay of execution and security requirements.
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19 December 2023 |
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Applicant failed to raise a triable defence; managing director’s acknowledgment bound the company, judgment for UGX 55,000,000 and costs.
Civil procedure – summary judgment – Order 36 Rule 3: leave to appear and defend requires a bona fide triable issue; Company law – acts of managing director bind the company absent evidence of lack of authority or board disavowal; Acknowledgment of debt signed by company officer is admissible and binding; Costs follow the event.
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15 December 2023 |
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15 December 2023 |
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15 December 2023 |
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Applicant granted leave to defend because the 8% monthly interest rate raised a triable issue of unconscionability.
Civil procedure – Order 36 summary procedure – Leave to appear and defend – Defendant must show bona fide triable issue; Interest law – Whether agreed 8% per month is harsh/unconscionable under s.26(1) Civil Procedure Act and governed by Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act; Summary judgment procedure not appropriate where triable issue of interest exists.
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15 December 2023 |
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Applicant’s interim injunction to prevent eviction pending arbitration dismissed for lack of serious question and irreparable harm.
Arbitration law – Section 6 ACA – interim measures pending arbitration; competence‑competence – tribunal’s jurisdiction to rule on validity; interlocutory injunction test – serious question to be arbitrated, irreparable harm (damages inadequate), balance of convenience; eviction and adequacy of damages.
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14 December 2023 |
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Court found agreed 36% interest unconscionable, reduced it to 24% and awarded costs to the applicant.
Civil Procedure Act s.26(1) – agreed contractual interest – whether rate is harsh and unconscionable; court’s discretion to set a just rate; reduction of contractual interest to prevailing commercial rate; Civil Procedure Act s.27(2) – costs follow the event.
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14 December 2023 |
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13 December 2023 |
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13 December 2023 |
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The applicant succeeds on a commercial loan claim; respondents liable and properties did not secure the loan as sale predated it.
Contract law – breach of contract – failure to complete works and repay loan. Security and property – validity of security where sale preceded loan; parol evidence rule. Suretyship – guarantor liability under Contracts Act s.71. Remedies – award of principal, pre- and post-judgment interest at commercial rate, general damages and costs.
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12 December 2023 |
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The applicant, as purchaser after a lawful mortgage sale, is entitled to vacant possession and costs against the respondent.
Mortgage law – power of sale and delivery of vacant possession – statutory notices and sale procedure under the Mortgage Act – effect of registration of title – substituted service and ex parte relief – costs follow the event.
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11 December 2023 |
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Bank entitled to recover overdue overdraft; guarantor liable to guaranteed limit, with damages, interest and costs awarded.
Commercial law – Overdraft repayable on demand; breach of contract for non-payment; enforceability and limit of personal guarantee; remedies: debt recovery, general damages, interest, costs.
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11 December 2023 |
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Respondents breached a commercial lease by failing to pay rent and causing structural damage; applicant awarded eviction and damages.
Contract law – breach of commercial lease – unpaid rent and obligations to maintain premises; enforceability of express lease terms. Evidence – unchallenged documentary and expert evidence treated as admitted; burden on party pleading force majeure. Remedies – eviction, recovery of arrears, general damages, interest and costs; future repair estimates not recoverable as special damages before works performed. Procedure – counterclaim dismissed for want of prosecution where no evidence is led.
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8 December 2023 |
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Substituted newspaper service sufficed to set aside dismissal, permitting default judgment for a liquidated debt with contractual interest.
Substituted service by newspaper publication; setting aside dismissal for non-service; default judgment on liquidated claim under Order 9 Rule 6; contractual commercial interest; costs of application versus costs of suit.
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8 December 2023 |
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Applicant in contempt and failed to satisfy criteria for stay; stay of execution dismissed with costs.
Stay of execution — requirements for grant: notice of appeal, imminent execution threat, security for performance, absence of unreasonable delay, likelihood of success, and risk of substantial/irreparable loss; Contempt — failure to comply with court order bars relief until purged; Demand letter alone does not constitute imminent execution.
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7 December 2023 |
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A court awarded recovery of outstanding debt, interest, general damages, and costs after breach of a credit supply contract.
Contract law – Supply of goods on credit – Breach of contract – Indebtedness and acknowledgment – Remedies recoverable including interest and general damages – Ex parte proceedings.
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7 December 2023 |
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6 December 2023 |
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6 December 2023 |
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5 December 2023 |
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Court ordered release of detained export goods to the shipper for re‑export after finding the consignee was struck off the Register.
Company law – strike‑off – legal consequence of being struck off the Register: loss of legal existence and locus to litigate. Customs/Trade – detention and release of goods by revenue authority acting as tax collection agent; change of destination/ownership under EACCM s.24(4). Remedies – court‑ordered repossession for re‑export conditional on indemnity, payment of fees and shipping‑line request.
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5 December 2023 |
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A judicial order recalled on administrative instruction was set aside for breaching functus officio and decisional independence; garnishee reinstated.
Civil procedure – review and functus officio – limited exceptions to re‑opening final orders; slip rule (s.99 Civil Procedure Act) permits correction of clerical slips only; review for error apparent on face of record. Execution – attachment – property liable to execution is property of judgment debtor or over which it has disposing power; statutory or constitutionally declared exempt funds only exempt from attachment. Constitutional/judicial administration – decisional independence — administrative instruction to alter a judicial order impermissible.
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4 December 2023 |
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Court refuses to set aside bailiff’s valuation absent manifest error; forced-sale value, not market value, governs execution sales.
Civil procedure – execution – forced-sale value vs market value; Valuation – expert reports; standards to challenge (manifest error, wrong methodology, omission); Valuation methods – cost, market, income/DCF; Court supervisory role over valuation; Contempt — duty to purge before relief.
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1 December 2023 |
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A memorandum of understanding was enforceable; defendant breached it and plaintiff recovered damages, interest, and costs.
Contract law – Memorandum of Understanding held enforceable as a contract; terms binding absent fraud or misrepresentation. Breach of contract – failure to pay agreed consideration and default on loan leading to foreclosure. Damages – special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved; documentary evidence supported repayment sums. Mesne profits – claim disallowed for lack of evidence. Interest and costs – interest awarded at commercial rates and costs follow the event.
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1 December 2023 |
