The Must-Have Mobile App for Ugandan Taxpayers #AskURA

I had an incident when I was filing VAT returns , this supplier’s document had an 11 digit TIN number! Now as you know the TIN number is only 10 digits, how then would I know which of the digits was the wrong one? Another incident happened that I uploaded a VAT return file and the system warned me that the supplier was not registered for VAT.

Effective 1st July 2015, any taxpayer receiving goods and services above Ugx.5M will be required to provide a TIN of the supplier before they can claim a deduction as a business expense. Many suppliers are aware of this and some unscrupulous ones may just give you a random TIN number.

You therefore need to know and confirm that your supplier has a TIN that is registered in their names. In case the supplier has charged you VAT you also need to know that they are rightfully doing so because they are registered for that tax type.

If you have had such incidences, you are able to verify your supplier’s TIN and tax status from the Uganda Revenue Authority portal as follows:

Click on login, provide Login ID and Password

On the Left menu, Click on, Search taxpayers

Fill in either the Taxpayer’s TIN or Name, click on search, and the system will generate the following details: Tax Payer Name; TIN; Registration Status; Trade Name (if any); Tax Type (Different taxes the taxpayer is registered for such as Income Tax, VAT, Imports & Exports, Motor Vehicle and Stamp Duty).

#URAGoesMobile! Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has even made this process easier and more accessible with URA’s first ever mobile App, AskURA. Currently, it can be downloaded onto phones using the Android system. Work to include phones running on Apple OS and Windows systems is ongoing.

To download the App, a one has to go to Google Play Store, search for AskURA and the application will appear with a URA logo. Thereafter, it can be downloaded.

Using the application, a user will be able search for taxpayer registration details, view tax types registered and corresponding effective registration dates.

Other services are viewing customs entry status, registering for payments, viewing motor vehicle profile, viewing taxpayer’s return history, searching for payment status and making instant inquiries. Tax assistance such as locating one’s tax office and tax calculators are also available.

To ease use, AskURA has been translated in Luganda and Runyakitara. The application is meant to supplement URA’s core systems like eTax for Domestic Taxes and Asycuda World for Customs (international trade taxes).

To your success!
image credit: https://www.ura.go.ug