Prime
Minister orders URA to pause taxes on gold exports
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa
What you need to know:
- In a March 7 letter addressed to the commissioner general of URA, the minister asked that the taxman to hold off on implementation of the $200 (approximately Shs740,000) per kilogramme tax levy on all gold exported.
- Since July 2021, the tax body has been unable to collect taxes from the gold exports, majorly due to the directive by the Finance ministry to halt the implementation of the 5 percent levy on each kilogramme of gold exported.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, has written to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to pause the recovery of taxes on gold exports for the last year and part of this year.
In a March 7 letter addressed to the commissioner general of URA, the minister asked that the taxman to hold off on implementation of the $200 (approximately Shs740,000) per kilogramme tax levy on all gold exported.
“Reference is made to the Mining and Minerals (Export Levy on Refined Gold) Regulations 2023 whose purpose is to collect arrears of outstanding export levy on exported gold from FY 2021/2022 to 30 June 2023. The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to request that the Uganda Revenue Authority halts the implementation of the Statutory Instrument until further guidance is provided,” the letter read.
Ironically, less than a month ago, on February 21, Ms Nankabirwa signed the Mining and Minerals (Export Levy on Refined Gold) Regulations 2023, which imposed a levy of $200 on each kilogramme of exported refined Gold.
The regulations were to work in a retrospective manner, dating back to July 1, 2021 and continue in force up to the end of FY 2022/23, until another rate is agreeable to by all parties.
Efforts to reach the Energy ministry spokesperson, Mr Solomon Muyita, to find out what warranted the U-turn by the minister, were futile as he did not respond to our calls by press time.
Since July 2021, the tax body has been unable to collect taxes from the gold exports, majorly due to the directive by the Finance ministry to halt the implementation of the 5 percent levy on each kilogramme of gold exported.
It was highlighted in the Auditor General’s report that the body fell short of Shs340b in taxes from gold exports in the FY 2021/22, which they hoped to recover in part after the implementation of the $200 levy.
URA spokesperson Ibrahim Bbosa told this publication yesterday that he was yet to have a look at the letter from the minister
One of the gold exporters, who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, said they have always abided by the law.
