Section 16: Furnishing of tax returns

(1) A person required to furnish a tax return under a tax law shall submit the return in the prescribed form and in the manner determined by the Commissioner General. (2) Where a person does not furnish a tax return under subsection (1), the Commissioner General may at the person's cost, by notice in writing, appoint another person to prepare and furnish the return on behalf of that person. (3) A return furnished under subsection (2) shall be treated, for all the purposes of the tax law under which the return is required to be furnished, to be the return of the person required to furnish the return. (4) Where the Commissioner General is not satisfied with a tax return furnished by a person, other than a self-assessment return, the Commissioner General may, by notice in writing, require the person who has furnished the return to provide a fuller or further tax return. (5) A taxpayer with an annual turnover of the amount prescribed in Schedule 4 to this Act shall furnish with the taxpayer's return of income audited financial statements prepared by an accountant registered by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda. (6) A tax return purporting to be made by or on behalf of a person is treated as having been made by the person or with the authority of the person unless the contrary is proved. (7) The following are tax returns for the purposes of this Act- (a) a return of income; (b) a return of rental income; (c) a provisional tax estimate; (d) a business information return; (e) a return required to be furnished under the Value Added Tax Act; (f) an excise duty return; (g) any other return required to be furnished under a tax law; and (h) any form required to be furnished under a tax law containing information relating to an assessment of tax. (8) For purposes of subsection (7), the applicable time frame for lodging a return shall be as follows- (a) in the case of a return of income, every taxpayer shall furnish a return of income for each year of income of the taxpayer not later than six months after the end of that year; (b) in the case of a return of rental income, every taxpayer shall furnish a return of rental income for each year of income of the taxpayer not later than six months after the end of that year; (c) a provisional taxpayer's estimate shall be in the form prescribed by the Commissioner General and shall be furnished to the Commissioner General by the due date for the payment of the first instalment of provisional tax for the year of income; (d) in the case of a business information return, a person who is required to furnish a business information return with the Commissioner General shall do so within sixty days after the end of the year of income in which the payment was made; (e) in the case of the Value Added Tax Act, a taxable person shall lodge a value added tax return with the Commissioner General for each tax period within fifteen days after the end of the tax period; (f) in the case of an excise duty return, a person who is required to furnish an excise duty return with the Commissioner General shall do so by the fifteenth day of the following month; (g) in the case of the Lotteries and Gaming Act a licensed person shall furnish returns with the Commissioner General as follows- (i) a weekly return, by Wednesday of the following week; and (ii) a monthly return, by the fifteenth day of the following month; (h) in case of any other return required to be furnished under a tax law, a person is required to furnish such return with the Commissioner General in the period specified under the tax law to which the return relates; (i) in case of any form required to be furnished under a tax law containing information relating to an assessment of tax, a person is required to furnish such a form with the Commissioner General in the period specified by the Commissioner General.