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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2022 |
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14 December 2022 |
| November 2022 |
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Tribunal upholds VAT assessment, allows limited input credit, and annuls WHT based on international telecommunications regulations.
• Tax law – VAT – undeclared output VAT on interconnect invoices; invoice discrepancies, credit notes and amendment obligations; five-year and amendment time limits under the VAT Act.
• Tax law – VAT – input tax credit – requirement for original tax invoices and proof of payment; authentication by tax authority; disallowance where suppliers cannot be traced or payments not proven.
• Tax law – Withholding tax – applicability to international telecommunication services; effect of International Telecommunications Regulations vis-à-vis domestic tax law and treaty precedence.
• Procedure – limitation/time-bar – applicability of Tax Procedure Code Act vs earlier law; evidentiary burden of self-assessments to compute limitation periods.
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28 November 2022 |
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16 November 2022 |
| October 2022 |
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28 October 2022 |
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25 October 2022 |
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Transaction-value requires accounting for bona fide credit notes; goods removed from EPZs into the customs territory attract import duties.
* Customs valuation – transaction value (Method 1) – effect of post-import debit and credit notes on customs value under EACCMA and WTO Valuation Agreement.
* Export Processing Zones (EPZs) – removal to customs territory treated as import – duties payable under EACCMA and EAC Protocols; certificate of origin is evidence, not automatic exemption.
* Procedure – tribunal disregards late-filed submissions; apportionment of costs where relief is partly granted.
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21 October 2022 |
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Tribunal taxed Part A of the bill at prescribed rates (Shs.1,947,000 inclusive VAT); Part B struck off for lack of particulars.
* Taxation of costs – Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations – rates for written submissions, attendances, drawing bills and extra copies (Rules 10 & 12).
* Costs follow the event but are discretionary – taxing officer’s balancing exercise (National Insurance Corporation v Pelican Air Services).
* Disbursements – must be particularised with dates and evidence per Rule 47; failure to do so warrants striking off.
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14 October 2022 |
| September 2022 |
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29 September 2022 |
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23 September 2022 |
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22 September 2022 |
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21 September 2022 |
| August 2022 |
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31 August 2022 |
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18 August 2022 |
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Whether a sale agreement transferring equitable interest triggers capital gains tax despite incomplete payment and unregistered transfer.
Income tax – capital gains tax – meaning of "disposal" – equitable interest arising on contract; business asset/commercial building where property is let; Commissioner’s assessment methods where taxpayer fails to establish cost base; protection against double taxation on rental income.
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16 August 2022 |
| July 2022 |
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25 July 2022 |
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Whether the applicant's imported ball valves were parts of a turbine or separate valves for tariff classification.
* Customs & tariff classification – application of the Harmonized System (HS) General Interpretative Rules and Section/Chapter Notes; treatment of disassembled imports under GIR 2(a). * Distinction between machine parts and separate mechanical appliances – whether valves are ‘parts’ of a hydraulic turbine or separate valves under heading 84.81. * Customs valuation – transaction value as basis for ad valorem duty (Fourth Schedule/EACCMA). * Evidentiary weight of import documents and locus inspection in tariff classification disputes.
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15 July 2022 |
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15 July 2022 |
| June 2022 |
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2 June 2022 |
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2 June 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Tribunal: VAT payable on imported online services, marketing expenses deductible, refund recalculation remitted to revenue authority.
* Tax — VAT on imported services — online/electronic services accessed abroad constitute imported services and attract VAT payable by the recipient. * Tax — VAT on undeclared sales — VAT inclusive sales require adjustment and payment. * Tax — Deductibility of expenses — grant-funded marketing expenses deductible where incurred in production of income; grant treated as capital, not income. * Tax procedure — Offsetting assessed tax against claimed refund, entitlement to interest on refund, remittal to tax authority for recalculation.
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31 May 2022 |
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Tribunal holds Section 15 requires 30% of tax 'in dispute' and finds taxpayer and banks in civil contempt, imposing fines and damages.
Tax Appeals Tribunal – s.15 interpretation: 30% payable of tax 'in dispute' (as per objection); contempt – tribunal lacks criminal jurisdiction under s.34 but may punish civil contempt under inherent powers/Civil Procedure Act; agency notices – banks may be liable for failing to remit amounts specified; requisites for civil contempt: lawful order, knowledge, non-compliance, wilfulness/mala fides; remedies: fines, damages, interest, costs.
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6 May 2022 |
| April 2022 |
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21 April 2022 |
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Warrant of distress set aside as ultra vires; reduced assessment reinstated; taxpayer failed to prove claimed deductions.
* Tax law – assessment arising from court award – validity of assessment and execution by warrant of distress; * Administrative law – functus officio: Commissioner's powers after issuing an objection decision; * Tax procedure – burden of proof for expense deductions, requirement for returns/audited financial statements; * Civil procedure – execution pending appeal requires an express stay.
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20 April 2022 |
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Applicant liable for affirmed VAT assessments; forcible registration valid and applicant failed to prove input credits or excess assessment.
* Tax law – VAT – registration threshold and duty to apply – s.7(1), s.7(2) and s.7(6) VAT Act. * Tax procedure – forcible registration and retrospective effect of registration. * Burden of proof – taxpayer’s duty to prove assessments excessive under Tax Appeals Tribunal Act and Tax Procedure Code Act. * Input tax – requirement of evidence to claim credit. * Taxable supply – whether proceeds of disposed assets formed part of business activities.
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11 April 2022 |
| March 2022 |
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Share benefits are taxable at acquisition (1995); waiver applied but applicant failed to prove individual entitlement, so claim dismissed.
* Tax law – Income Tax Act s.19(1)(g) – shares issued to employees as taxable employment income at point of acquisition.
* Tax Procedure – requirement to exhaust objection/appeal procedures and burden of proof on taxpayer (Tax Procedure Code Act; Tax Appeals Tribunal Act s.18/Tax Procedure Code s.26).
* Finance Act 2008 – waiver of tax arrears outstanding on or before 30 June 2002 and still outstanding by 30 June 2008.
* Civil procedure – representative actions and need for authority/order to represent other claimants.
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31 March 2022 |
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An entity conducting commercial lending and charging interest cannot be classed as a charitable exempt organization under the Income Tax Act.
* Tax law – Income Tax Act s.2(bb)(i)(B) and s.21(1)(f) – definition and scope of "exempt organization"
* Charity law – requirement that charities be operated exclusively for charitable purposes
* Social enterprises – conflict between charitable status and commercial lending activities (interest-bearing loans, licences)
* Procedural/administrative – absence of NGO permit and reliance on trade/money-lending licences inconsistent with charitable classification
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30 March 2022 |
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Tribunal: performance, advance payment and generic guarantees are indemnity bonds subject to 1% stamp duty; bid bonds are not.
Stamp duty – classification of instruments – performance bonds, advance payment guarantees and generic guarantees characterized as indemnity bonds and taxable at 1% (Item 36); bid/bid securities are ordinary bonds (Item 16) – statutory interpretation of Schedule 2, ordinary meaning and character of instrument – where descriptions conflict, the highest duty applies (s.6(1)).
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21 March 2022 |
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Tribunal holds performance, advance payment and generic guarantees are indemnity bonds (1% duty); bid bonds attract flat bond duty.
Stamp duty — classification of instruments — performance bonds, advance payment guarantees and guarantees characterised as indemnity bonds (Item 36, 1%); bid bonds are ordinary bonds (Item 16, flat duty); statutory interpretation and character-of-instrument test.
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2 March 2022 |
| February 2022 |
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Voluntary disclosure under s.66 requires written admission and a compounding agreement; applicant’s communications were insufficient.
Tax law – Voluntary disclosure and compounding (s.66 Tax Procedure Code Act) – requirements: voluntary disclosure to Commissioner-General, written admission, request and compounding agreement – intention or disclosure after respondent’s review insufficient – effect of Tax Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 2020 waiving interest/penalties as at 30 June 2020.
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10 February 2022 |
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10 February 2022 |
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Design services incidental to installation were not subject to VAT input recovery, but withholding tax liability was upheld.
VAT — imported services vs. ancillary services; supply incidental to goods; input VAT not claimable on exempt supplies; Income Tax — Ugandan‑source services and withholding tax liability of payer.
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1 February 2022 |
| January 2022 |
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Tribunal held some consultants were employees for PAYE where remuneration was fixed or ascertainable; others engaged short‑term were not.
Taxation – PAYE v withholding tax – distinction between employee and independent contractor; Income Tax Act’s broader definition of employment; tests of control, integration, provision of tools, duration and fixed/ascertainable remuneration; short engagements (<2 months) not fixed/ascertainable.
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27 January 2022 |
