Directors of Wellex Hardware found guilty of creating fake invoices, sent to Luzira

Jigar Chandarana, a director of Wellex Hardware Ltd., and two other people were found guilty and sentenced to jail by the Kololo Anti-Corruption Court for creating and selling fraudulent invoices.

Wellex Hardware Ltd., based in Bwaise, Kawempe division, along Bombo Road, Kampala, was accused of generating fictitious bills with the aim of defrauding. This was brought up in court on Wednesday, June 14. The hardware store mostly sells construction supplies.

According to the Uganda Revenue Authority, the intelligence community is working nonstop to apprehend anyone suspected of committing such tax offenses.

The nation's tax collector claims to be vigilant and has thus created a variety of tactics to combat the sin. According to URA, it mainly relies on intelligence-led activities, and as a result, many made-up firms have been discovered.

According to URA, it is vigilant and has thus created a variety of tactics to combat the vice. According to URA, it mainly relies on intelligence-led activities, and as a result, many made-up firms have been discovered.

Izimba Aaron, a 44-year-old accountant and director of Izimba & Company Certified Public Accountants, was one of seven businesses recently caught up in questionable practices such as invoice swapping.

Stuart Aheebwa, the Supervisor of Litigation at URA, claims that due to his acts, which included faking trade invoices and abusing some of his customers' Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), a tax loss of UGX 2.8 billion was sustained. Izimba is also accused of making purchases on behalf of some of his customers while altering the passwords for their TINs.

The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Act, 2022's Section 62H(c) specifies that it is a crime for a taxpayer to make a false or misleading statement in the information return.

If found guilty, the infraction carries a maximum punishment of 2500 currency points for each day of noncompliance, a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, or both. A currency point is worth 20,000 UGX.

The most recent operations take place at a time when URA has already started a campaign to encourage all taxpayers to get receipts at the moment of purchase.

Mr. John Musinguzi Rujoki, Commissioner General of URA, stated that the new initiative is part of the government's effort towards self-sustenance and reducing borrowing to fund the budget. He added that it will also help businesses improve their record-keeping because the receipts will give an accurate picture of the volumes of goods and services sold to consumers. The initiative was launched at URA headquarters in Kampala last week.

"The goal of this program is to foster a culture of accountability and record-keeping, which are crucial components for the growth and success of any economy. For us to understand the development of our companies and customers, we need precise data. As you are aware, maintaining records has not been a part of Ugandan tradition, said Musinguzi.

According to the Commissioner General, the new campaign will help the Authority be more responsible for the taxes it is collecting because the new electronic system will update URA on the goods being sold by all businesses, and there won't be a need to file taxes going forward as there is now.

He also acknowledged that despite the start of electronic tax payments in 2020, there has been a poor acceptance of the technology, which he attributed to certain firms' inability to acquire the equipment needed by URA to calculate their taxes.

Some companies lack the funds to purchase electronic hardware, or if they do, they choose to spend the money on other things than technology. Therefore, as URA, we are attempting to find a solution to this problem without requiring that these companies spend money on gadgets that they had not planned for, according to Musinguzi.