High Court Backs URA in UGX 14.54 Billion Rice Tax Dispute

What the report says

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has won an appeal in the High Court over a tax refund dispute involving rice importers, according to Dokolo Post. The case, Uganda Revenue Authority v David Natweta & 6 Others, concerned whether agreed interest terms in a settlement could be replaced by a different calculation after the dispute had been resolved.

Dokolo Post reported that URA and the importers had reached consent agreements that included 6 per cent simple interest as part of the settlement. The Tax Appeals Tribunal later set aside that arrangement and substituted another approach, which the appeal said could have increased the interest burden by about UGX 13.09 billion. The High Court overturned that ruling and upheld the negotiated interest term.

The article said the settlement involved payment of more than UGX 14.54 billion in principal claims to the importers, while URA gave up certain legal defences in return for the agreed terms. The dispute also raised the question of whether a statutory 2 per cent compound interest rule should automatically apply where parties have already settled on different conditions.

The decision is significant because it reinforces the legal weight of negotiated settlements in tax disputes and may affect how similar refund cases are handled in Uganda. More broadly, it highlights the financial stakes in disputes involving tax administration, importers and interest calculations, especially when settlement terms are later challenged.