Uganda Revenue Authority Under Fire for Mishandling Billions in Taxpayer Funds Worth 46 Billion Shillings

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has once again found itself under intense scrutiny as Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (PAC-COSASE) accuses the tax body of financial recklessness and blatant disregard for the law in its handling of taxpayer money.

Fresh revelations from the Auditor General’s 2024 report uncovered troubling irregularities in URA’s management of appropriated funds. As of June 2023, the Authority was sitting on a Shs46.6 billion cash balance in its expenditure account. Of this, Shs4.3 billion was not returned to the Consolidated Fund within the legally mandated period and was instead spent months later—an action that clearly violates the Public Finance Management Regulations of 2016.

“The usage of expired appropriations contravenes the law, distorts government planning initiatives, and overstates the entity’s budget,” the Auditor General warned.

Despite the warning, the trend didn’t end there. A year later, by June 2024, URA had accumulated another Shs26.6 billion in its expenditure account. Yet again, the funds were not transferred to the Consolidated Fund by the October 30th deadline, in clear defiance of legal requirements.

Facing the PAC Committee, URA management attributed the delay to a garnishee order amounting to Shs26.2 billion issued by the High Court in favour of businessman John Imoniroguho. The court’s decision followed a drawn-out tax dispute that had lasted over 20 years.

But MPs weren’t buying the explanation. The Committee pointed out that even after accounting for the garnished Shs26.2 billion, there remained Shs4.3 billion which was not affected by the court order and could have been returned. “The entity’s retention of the amount was irregular and may have deprived other entities from access and use of the same funds in addition to distorting planning,” the Committee observed.

Further concerns were raised about the integrity of URA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism. PAC questioned the impartiality of a system chaired by the Commissioner General—the same office that typically makes the disputed tax assessments.

“This compromises the independence of the process,” PAC said, recommending legislative reforms to make ADR impartial and effective.

The report warned that URA’s repeated misuse of expired appropriations not only undermines fiscal discipline but also deprives the government of vital resources for service delivery.

As a remedy, PAC is calling on URA to strictly adhere to Regulation 17 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), which mandates that all unutilised balances be returned to the Consolidated Fund by July 31st each year.

“Failure to do so will continue to undermine credibility in public financial management and erode confidence in URA’s stewardship of national resources,” the Committee warned.