A recent report on the Tax Appeals Tribunal’s effectiveness has revealed some concerning statistics. Between June 2022 and June 2024, the Tribunal received 368 tax appeal cases worth Shs404b, but only 19 were resolved, while 91 were settled by consent. This means that only 29.8% of tax disputes were resolved during this period.
The report also highlights that six cases worth Shs3.5b were returned to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), 40 cases (Shs17.1b) were withdrawn, and 212 cases worth Shs331.9b remained unresolved. The Tribunal’s chairperson, Ms Crystal Kabajwara, disputed the report’s accuracy, stating that the Tribunal had resolved 188 cases valued at Shs265b during the first half of 2023.
The Auditor General’s report attributed the high number of pending cases to the limited number of Tribunal members, indicating inadequate capacity to clear tax disputes. This has resulted in long outstanding tax disputes locking up government revenue. The report advises that the Tribunal’s structure needs to be reviewed and enhanced to effectively dispose of tax disputes.
Interestingly, a 2023 semi-annual report on the Domestic Revenue Mobilisation Strategy noted a mismatch between the number of tax appeals filed and those resolved. This has created a deterrent for businesses to invest more, as the pace of case resolution is not keeping up with new cases lodged.
Source: MONITOR