Jinja traders join protests against EFRIS 

Trades in Jinja city in eastern Uganda have joined the ongoing protests against the enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS).

The Jinja traders have joined their counterparts in Kampala central business district (CBD) who have closed shops since the beginning of the week after claiming that EFRIS will lower their customers’ purchasing power, and over time, create unfair business regimes with frustrated individuals falsifying tax returns for survival.

They also claim that EFRIS is a form of multiple taxation, aimed at trolling the already struggling informal sector into poverty. The traders say they will not relent until the executive recalls efforts of operationalizing EFRIS.

Hussein Kakoza, a textile dealer said that he purchases goods from Kampala-based suppliers before reselling the same to wholesalers across Jinja. He notes that, with the already existing high commodity prices, EFRIS worsens the situation. He said customers might now opt to redesign clothing from second-hand materials.

Ashiraf Lulenzi, an agricultural produce dealer said enforcing EFRIS threatens to lower the customer purchasing power, which will cripple key sectors of the economy. Lulenzi notes that, the current standoff be handled as a matter of urgency, since any delays in drafting workable business solutions affect the revenue collection.

Rebecca Asaba, a dealer in second-hand shoes said the government should opt for fair taxation regimes. Jinja Trader’s Association spokesperson, Tony Pande said the closure is necessary since responsible government agencies have opted for silence rather than address the matters at hand.

Pande notes that, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) teams have been visiting shop owners and directing them to purchase the electronic receipting machines to ease EFRIS or risk closure, which he terms as unfair to force traders into purchasing items that they did not budget or plan for.

URA however insists that EFRIS is not a tax but rather an initiative under the Domestic Revenue Mobilization Program whose aim is to address the tax administration challenges relating to business transactions and issuance of receipts.