Uganda: URA payments, EFRIS e-invoicing and digital tax stamps

Paying with a payment registration number

The URA payment service generates a payment registration number (PRN). The payer presents the PRN at a bank or quotes it on mobile money ¹. The same page offers card payment by VISA or Mastercard, payment status checks, manual payment forms and a service to reactivate an expired PRN ¹.

Other agencies use the URA portal for their own fees. The Atomic Energy Council, a government regulator, tells clients to register payments under the "Other NTR" option and pick the ministry, department and fee category ⁵. It says the payment slip is valid for 21 days and that mobile money can be used for payments below 3 million, without naming the currency ⁵. The council lists the steps below ⁵.

• Register the payment on the URA portal, at a URA tax office or at the agency accounts office, and print the payment slip ⁵.
• Present the slip and the payment at the bank named on the slip ⁵.
• The bank sends the payment details to URA within 5 minutes and URA updates the payer's account ⁵.
• Show the receipt to the agency as proof of payment ⁵.

EFRIS e-invoicing

EFRIS stands for Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution. It records business transactions and shares them with URA in real time ². VAT-registered taxpayers must use it to issue e-invoices and are registered on it automatically. Other taxpayers can use it by choice ². Each e-document carries a Fiscal Document Number, a verification code and a QR code ².

Businesses can issue e-invoices through a mobile app, an Electronic Fiscal Device, desktop software, the URA web portal, a system-to-system link or a fuel dispenser controller ². URA brought in Electronic Fiscal Devices in the 2021/22 financial year. A URA article gave the price as UGX 1,100,000 each from accredited supplier Rank Consult (U) Limited, with a number of free devices given out in order of application ⁴.

In a notice first published on 10 August 2026, URA listed 12 sectors that must use EFRIS from 1 July 2025. They include manufacturing, construction, accommodation and food services, real estate and fuel stations ³. Businesses in those sectors with annual turnover under UGX 10,000,000 do not have to issue e-invoices ³. The notice cites Section 22(3)(m) of the Income Tax Act, which bars income tax deductions for expenses without an e-invoice or e-receipt from a supplier required to use EFRIS ³.

Digital tax stamps

Digital tax stamps were introduced in November 2019, as reported by Deogratius Wamala of the Daily Monitor on 29 June 2023 ⁶. They first covered mineral water, soda, cigarettes, spirits, beer and wine, and were later extended to sugar, cement and cooking oil ⁶. URA official Ibrahim Bbosa said digital tax solutions had "resulted in a 39 percent overall revenue growth from collections" ⁶. Penalties for dealing in unstamped products rose from UGX 30 million to UGX 100 million, imprisonment or both ⁶.

The stamps are supplied under a URA contract with SICPA ⁷. URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki said the contract allows for stamp costs to fall over time and that costs had already fallen for spirits and beer, as reported by Martin Luther Oketch on 9 May 2024 ⁷.

Dispute over stamp costs

A Private Sector Foundation Uganda report prepared with PwC found that Uganda's stamps cost 28.7% more on average than Kenya's and 25.9% more than Tanzania's ⁷. Uganda Breweries said it spends UGX 20 billion on digital stamps ⁷. URA said it would study the report and meet manufacturers ⁷.

Manufacturers petitioned the Finance Committee of Parliament in late 2024, saying the stamps raised the cost of doing business, as reported by Dorothy Nakaweesi on 4 November 2024 ⁸. Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said the government would commission a study of the stamps ⁸. Finance Ministry official Moses Kagwa said negotiations were under way for costs to drop further ⁸.