Kampala lawyer Phillip Karugaba has accused the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) of contempt of court over its continued use of fallback assessments for calculating motor vehicle duty taxes.
Karugaba’s accusations follow a Court of Appeal ruling in his favor against URA, which the authority allegedly disregarded.
Despite a court order instructing URA to use the transaction value method for calculating taxes on imported vehicles, URA has persisted in using the fallback or alternative valuation method.
This decision prompted Karugaba to write to the Commissioner of URA, seeking compliance with the court’s ruling.
In response, Catherine Donovan Kyokunda, the Commissioner of Legal Services and Board Affairs at URA, invited Karugaba to a meeting to discuss the matter further.
In her letter, she stated, “URA takes cognizance of the issues raised in your letter and would like to invite you for a meeting to discuss this matter in detail on Tuesday, 11th June, 2024, at 10:30 am on the 17th Floor Boardroom. This meeting will provide us an opportunity to understand the basis of your information and verify the current custom practices relating to imported cars. We believe that an open and transparent discussion about this issue is essential to build trust and maintain a good relationship between URA and the public.”
However, Karugaba dismissed this approach on his X account, arguing that the issue is not a private matter but one of public interest. He stated, “So we are to explain to URA why they are in contempt of court! URA wants us to meet in private as learned friends rather than ‘playing on social media’! This is not a game. It is not a private matter. The public has a right to know.”
The Court of Appeal’s judgment on March 22, 2023, in the case of Commissioner Customs, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) versus Testimony Motors Limited, directed URA to cease using the fallback valuation method and instead apply the transaction value method as required by law.
However, reports suggest that URA continues to ignore this ruling, leading to concerns about the rule of law and public trust in Uganda’s judicial system.
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