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Jutrade General Agencies Limited v Uganda Revenue Authority Anor (TAT Application No 65 of 2019)

Tribunal · [2020] UGTAT 10 · 2020 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to Tax Appeals Tribunal challenging VAT assessments; preliminary objections raised by respondents on grounds of time bar and wrong party
Decision
Application dismissed on preliminary objections; applicant's challenge to VAT assessments not heard on merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Tax Appeals Tribunal dismissed the application on preliminary objections. The application was time barred, having been filed on 5 July 2019, five days after the 30-day statutory deadline from service of objection decisions in May 2019. The Tribunal held that statutory time limits are matters of substantive law requiring strict compliance. The second respondent bank was wrongly sued as it acted as agent of the taxpayer under Tax Procedure Code Act s.31(9), and an agent cannot be sued where the principal is known and disclosed.

Outcome

Application dismissed on preliminary objections; applicant's challenge to VAT assessments not heard on merits

Facts

Between 2011 and 2012, Uganda Revenue Authority issued Jutrade General Agencies Limited with multiple VAT assessments totalling over Shs. 85 million for non-filing of returns and other periods. The applicant objected in July 2012. URA issued objection decisions between September 2012 and July 2013. The applicant did not pay, attracting interest. URA issued an agency notice of Shs. 294,448,923 to Equity Bank, the applicant's bank. The applicant wrote to URA on 23 April 2019 requesting objection decisions, which were forwarded on 30 April 2019. The applicant filed this application on 5 July 2019. URA raised a preliminary objection that the application was time barred. Equity Bank objected that it was wrongly sued as it was merely an agent.

Issues

  1. Whether the application is time barred?
  2. Whether the 2nd respondent is a right party to this application?
  3. What remedies are available?

Orders

  • Preliminary objections by the respondents upheld.
  • Application dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Tax Law — Tax Appeals — Time Limits — Strict Compliance Required
Statutory time limits for filing tax appeals are matters of substantive law, not mere technicalities, and must be strictly complied with; failure to file within the prescribed period, even by one day, bars the application.
Tax Law — Tax Appeals — Service of Objection Decisions — Computation of Time
The 30-day period for filing an application to the Tax Appeals Tribunal under Tax Procedure Code Act s.25(1) and Tax Appeals Tribunal Act s.16(1)(c) runs from the date the taxpayer is served with the objection decision, not from the date the decision was issued.
Tax Law — Agency Notices — Bank as Agent of Taxpayer
Under Tax Procedure Code Act s.31(9), a bank making payment pursuant to an agency notice acts as agent of the taxpayer and is indemnified; where the principal is known and disclosed, an aggrieved party cannot sue the agent.
Civil Procedure — Parties — Wrong Party — Agent Cannot Be Sued When Principal Known
An agent cannot be sued where the principal is known and has been disclosed; a taxpayer cannot sue its own bank as agent when the bank acts under statutory authority pursuant to an agency notice issued by the tax authority.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (3)

  • Prime Contractors v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 91 of 2014)
  • Hilton Sutton Steam Laundry (1946) 1 KB 67 at 81
  • Uganda Revenue Authority v Toro Mityana HC 248

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Jutrade General Agencies Limited v Uganda Revenue Authority Anor (TAT Application No 65 of 2019) 2020 UGTAT 10 (21 May 2020)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.