By Spy Uganda
The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Aisha Naluzze Batala, has taken decisive action to protect public revenue by directing the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to recover nearly Shs40 billion in unpaid taxes from gold exporting companies.
TheSpy Uganda has learnt that, the IGG instructed URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki to ensure the recovery of the tax arrears within 60 days and to report back on the steps taken to enforce compliance.
The directive follows investigations which revealed significant gaps in tax collection from Uganda’s lucrative gold export sector, despite massive volumes of gold leaving the country over recent years.
According to the IGG’s findings, gold valued at approximately Shs11 trillion was exported between January 2020 and June 2021, during a period governed by the Mining (Amendment) Act, 2021, which imposed a five percent export levy on refined gold. A further Shs12 trillion worth of gold was exported between July 2021 and March 2023 under the Mining and Minerals Act, 2021.
However, the IGG noted that government revenue was adversely affected by a combination of legal waivers, policy gaps, and regulatory suspensions that disrupted the consistent collection of export levies. In some instances, tax payments were not made due to presidential directives waiving certain levies, while in others, legal disputes and regulatory uncertainty stalled enforcement.
The IGG has identified five gold exporting companies with outstanding tax obligations amounting to Shs38.7 billion. These include Bullion Refinery Limited, which accounts for the largest share, followed by Metal Testing Smelting Company Limited, Aurnish Trading Limited, Africa Gold Refinery, and Simba Gold Refinery.
Ms Batala emphasized that, regardless of previous regulatory challenges, public institutions have a duty to safeguard national revenue and ensure that all eligible taxes are properly assessed and collected in accordance with the law.
The directive comes amid broader efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in Uganda’s extractives sector, which has increasingly come under scrutiny due to its rapid growth and high export values.
While some companies have reportedly requested permission to settle the arrears in instalments and others have lodged formal objections to the tax assessments, the IGG has maintained that URA must exhaust all lawful avenues to recover the outstanding amounts.
The move has been welcomed by governance and public finance advocates, who say it signals renewed oversight over a sector critical to Uganda’s economic future.
By press time, URA had not issued an official response to the IGG’s directive.
