Wakilii

Umeme Ltd v Avenue Cargo Enterprises (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application 1383 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 419 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to appear and defend arising from summary suit for debt recovery
Decision
Applicant granted unconditional leave to appear and defend the main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the applicant raised triable issues of law and fact regarding whether it was obliged to inform the respondent about a URA agency notice, whether it had a duty to honour the agency notice, and disputes about the claimed sum of UGX 325,857,082. These issues placed the matter outside the ambit of summary procedure under Order 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. Unconditional leave to appear and defend was granted.

Outcome

Applicant granted unconditional leave to appear and defend the main suit

Facts

The respondent filed Civil Suit No. 611 of 2025 under summary procedure seeking to recover UGX 325 million from the applicant Umeme Ltd. The applicant contended that the money claimed had been paid to URA pursuant to an agency notice. The applicant disputed the amount claimed and raised questions about whether it had an obligation to notify the respondent taxpayer that it had received an agency notice, and what responsibilities Umeme had when served with such a notice. The respondent did not appear at the hearing of the application for leave to appear and defend.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has raised sufficient grounds to warrant the grant of leave to appear and defend Civil Suit No. 611 of 2025?

Orders

  • The Applicant is hereby granted unconditional leave to appear and defend Civil Suit No. 611 of 2025.
  • The Applicant shall file and serve its Written Statement of Defence within fifteen (15) days from the date of this Ruling.
  • The Respondent shall file and serve its reply to the Written Statement of Defence within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of the Written Statement of Defence.
  • Costs of this application shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Summary Procedure — Leave to Appear and Defend — Test for Grant
For leave to appear and defend under Order 36 rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules to be granted, an applicant must show by affidavit or otherwise that there is a bona fide triable issue of fact or law.
Civil Procedure — Summary Procedure — Triable Issue — Definition
A triable issue is one capable of being resolved through a legal trial, that is, a matter that is subject to or liable to judicial examination in court. It arises when a material proposition of law or fact is affirmed by one party and denied by the other.
Civil Procedure — Summary Procedure — Grounds for Leave to Defend
A defendant should be granted leave to appear and defend if he or she can show a good defence on merit, or that a difficult point of law is involved, or a dispute as to the facts which ought to be tried, or a real dispute as to the amount claimed which requires taking an account to determine, or any other circumstances showing reasonable grounds of a bona fide defence.
Tax Law — Agency Notice — Obligations of Third Party Recipient — Triable Issue
Where a defendant raises triable issues regarding whether it was obliged to inform a taxpayer about receipt of a URA agency notice, whether it had a duty to honour the agency notice, and disputes about the communicated tax liability and supporting details, such issues place the matter outside the ambit of summary procedure.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (5)

  • Maluku Interglobal Trade Agency Ltd v Bank of Uganda [1985] HCB 65
  • Jamil Ssenyonjo v Jonathan Bunjo (High Court Civil Suit No. 180 of 2012)
  • Bhaker Kotecha v Adam Mohammed [2002] 1 EA 112
  • Twentsche Overseas Trading Co. Ltd v Bombay Garage Ltd [1958] EA 741
  • Churanjilal & Co. v A.H Adam (1950) 17 EACA 92

Full judgment

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

Umeme Ltd v Avenue Cargo Enterprises (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application 1383 of 2025) [2025] UGCommC 419 (27 October 2025)
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.