Uganda Revenue Authority visiting team & GRA commissioner General Yankuba Darboe
By Fatou Sillah
A delegation from the Uganda Revenue Authority is currently in The Gambia to get an insight into how GRA managed a successful auditing of the telecommunications industry, which remains a huge challenge in many jurisdictions around Africa.
The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) wrote on Sunday;
“A delegation of three Senior Officers from the Uganda Revenue Authority visited the GRA. Their visit is meant to give them an insight into how GRA managed a successful auditing of the telecommunications industry, which remains a huge challenge in many jurisdictions around Africa,” GRA said.
Receiving the delegation, Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority, Mr. Yankuba Darboe, underscored the importance of broadening the tax net for more revenue to be collected. Having realized the challenge in taxing the telecoms, GRA approached the IMF for support to build the capacity of its Tax Auditors. Andrew Chege was sent for this capacity building exercise of the Authority’s Tax Auditors. With this support and the procurement of an audit software, so many gains have been registered since then both in terms of revenue collection and compliance.
Aine Grace Ngabirano, the head of the visiting delegation, revealed that Uganda has about 30 million telecom subscribers, which suggests that there e is so much untapped revenue potential. Given that they wanted to embark on a similar journey as the GRA, they also approached the IMF for similar support, and they were referred to the GRA by the IMF.
Deputy Commissioner General Mr. Essa Jallow, in welcoming the team, shared the great experience of how far GRA has come with this sector. He also recommended that the team sits with the Tax Audit Section for more insights. Mr. Ebou Jallow, Deputy Commissioner of Tax Audit, later had a session with the visiting delegation. Today, this sector forms part of the Authority’s taxpayers with the highest compliance rate as well.
While counting on the support of the GRA, the head of the visiting delegation expressed their appreciation for the reception accorded and the insightful discussion held.