By Our Reporter
Uganda loses up to Ushs 50 billion annually in revenue due to failure to enforce the Marine Act, Insurance broker Aon’s CEO Maurice Amogola has said. According to him, much of the cargo being shipped into the country is not insured locally, shifting the benefits to foreign insurance firms and economies. He called on Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to move in fast to seal the anomaly, a move that could significantly boost their collections and push the country closer towards achieving the middle-income economy status.
“Goods coming to Uganda should be insured in Uganda. This will give the country good revenue and create employment locally and stimulate economic growth. Insuring goods with international firms can lead to delays as it can take longer time to make follow ups and receive compensation, leaving the clients frustrated. In addition, if one has a problem in Mombasa or gets problems when the goods are on transit to Kampala it will take them a long time even to get the insurance company in Europe or other overseas countries to assess the damage. Local companies are best suited to sort out the issues because they are readily available,” he said.
Amogola was speaking in his office after receiving a delegation from the URA led by Irene Mbabazi, the Manager Manufacturing and Finance in the Large Tax Office.
He called for the harmonization of functions of the large tax office and the small tax offices, saying that that some of the procedures were slowing down business.
“Value Added Tax (VAT) filing is a teething problem for the industry due to the nature of the insurance business. When we make declarations, it takes longer to reconcile the figures from the companies and the brokers. URA should make necessary changes to speed up the process,” he added.
Mbabazi lauded Aon Uganda for its tax compliance record adding that the insurance broker has been instrumental in helping grow business in the country through sound risk advice.
She called on the Insurance Industry to push harder to help increase uptake of insurance covers in the country.
“Although tax returns have showed steady economic growth, the same has not been reflected in the rate at which companies and individuals take up insurance covers,” she said.
The visit to the Aon offices was part of URA’s initiative to appreciate customers who had outstanding records of meeting their tax obligations.