Uganda Business CEOs taken through new Transfer pricing Regulations and and EAC Double Taxation Agreement

Uganda Revenue Authority has held the second consultative business forum to discuss implementation of the new transfer pricing regulations and Double Taxation Agreements in the context of the East African Community.

The forum, which was held at the Serena Kampala Hotel in August this year, brought together the private sector, tax advisors, tax administrators, tax policy experts and development partners to deliberate in-depth on the new regulations.

John Mayanja, Assistant Commissioner Large Taxpayers' Office took the participants through a step by step approach on what transfer pricing was all about and the legal framework within which it operated.

He further said that transfer pricing wasn't a problem, but the problem was in the way Multi-national enterprises abused the transferring price.

Mayanja told the participants that URA was to gazette a Practise Note detailing the documentation required from the taxpayers to assist in demonstrating the arm's length price.

Since URA uses the self-assessment policy, the taxpayer has the first priority to choose which method to apply in setting the transfer price with supporting documents.
"Then URA can evaluate the price depending on the various comparability factors surrounding that particular transaction, and reach an agreement with the taxpayer," Mayanja added.

On the issue of Double taxation agreement in view of the East African Community, Moses Kagwa, the Commissioner Tax Policy in the Ministry of Finance and Economic planning revealed that the agreement had already been drafted and was awaiting ratification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ronald Akankwasa the CEO of Destiny Consultant urged the participants to embrace the agreement because it was a win-win to both the private sector and the tax administrators.

"The DTA will encourage international trade, flow of capital and labour, provide a certainty in taxation, and combat tax avoidance and evasion. It will also provide an official exchange of information between tax authorities and also eliminate discriminatory taxation," Akankwasa said.

Kagwa concurred with Akankwasa adding that the DTA would also reduce the rate of tax especially on withholding tax.

He added that they were moving towards fiscal harmonization as a region not as individual countries.