Jinja traders join strike against EFRIS

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Jinja Traders Association-TA have joined the nationwide strike by closing shop to protest the enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution-EFRIS.

Traders say that, EFRIS is a form of taxation that will lower their customers’ purchasing power and over time create unfair business regimes, with frustrated individuals falsifying tax returns for survival.

They also note that EFRIS is a form of multiple taxation, aimed at trolling the already struggling informal sector into poverty.

The traders told URN on Wednesday that this action is aimed at backing up ongoing efforts by traders in the central region to demand the executive to recall efforts of operationalizing EFRIS.

Hussein Kakoza, a textile dealer said that he purchases goods from Kampala-based suppliers before reselling the same to wholesalers across Jinja city.

Kakoza notes that, with the already existing high commodity prices, EFRIS worsens the situation. He said customers may opt to redesign clothing in second-hand materials.

Ashiraf Lulenz, an agricultural produce dealer said enforcing EFRIS threatens to lower the population’s purchasing power, which will cripple key sectors of the economy.

Lulenzi notes that, the current standoff should be handled as a matter of urgency, since any delays in drafting workable business solutions.

Rebecca Asaba, a dealer in second-hand shoes said the government should opt for fair taxation regimes.

The Jinja Trader’s Association spokesperson, Tony Pande said the standoff is necessary since responsible government agencies have opted for silence rather than address the matters at hand.

Pande notes that, Uganda Revenue Authority-URA teams have been visiting shop owners and directing them to purchase the electronic receipting machines to ease EFRIS or risk closure, which he terms as unfair to force traders into practicing systems alien to them.

Uganda Revenue Authority has however insisted that Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution is not a tax. The revenue collection body says EFRIS is an initiative under the Domestic Revenue Mobilization Program whose aim is to address the tax administration challenges relating to business transactions and issuance of receipts.

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URN