The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has attributed its underperformance in revenue collection during the first half of the 2025/26 financial year to disruptions caused by the 2026 general election activities.
URA collected UGX 16.476 trillion between July and December 2025, falling short of the projected target of UGX 17.5 trillion, representing a performance of 94.09 per cent.
The disclosure was made by the Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Denis Kugonza Kateeba, while presenting URA’s 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper before Parliament’s Committee on Finance on Tuesday.
“The total revenue collection was UGX 16.476 trillion against a target of UGX 17.5 trillion. This underperformance was largely due to second-quarter election interruptions, during which URA slowed down some of its activities to allow political parties to mobilise citizens, which in turn affected economic activity,” Kugonza said.
He explained that the election period also saw some taxpayers reduce their business operations, further affecting collections.
“Some taxpayers slowed down on their activities, but we are confident that in the new cycle from January to June, we shall recover rapidly and make up for the deficit,” he added.
Despite the shortfall, URA reported improved recoveries from tax arrears through legal enforcement mechanisms. The Authority collected UGX 186 billion through arrears management and alternative dispute resolution, while UGX 274 billion was realised from completed legal cases.
URA also revealed that customs enforcement operations conducted between July and December 2025 yielded UGX 41 billion against a target of UGX 61 billion. The lower performance was similarly attributed to election-related disruptions that compelled the Authority to scale down enforcement activities.
Addressing the Committee, Kugonza said URA would prioritise improved compliance and revenue growth going forward by strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms and enhancing staff capacity.
“We are operationalising the Tax Academy, competence-based programmes and change management initiatives. We have recruited additional staff who now require capacity building, and it is cost-effective to train them through our Tax Academy using structured tax programmes,” he noted.
Kugonza further disclosed that URA is preparing systems to manage anticipated oil and gas revenues expected in the next financial year.
“We are preparing petroleum oil and gas solutions. We expect oil to start flowing towards the end of the next calendar year, and we must ensure that when oil revenue comes in, we have robust systems to manage it,” he said.
