When the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) first rolled out the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) in January 2021, it marked a defining moment in Uganda’s tax administration. When EFRIS first arrived, it was met with deep suspicion in places like Kikuubo and across Uganda’s vast informal sector.
Many traders dismissed it as a hidden tax trap rather than what it truly was a real-time sales reporting system. I remember the uphill task of convincing my own clients that no new tax had been introduced, only a tool designed to capture transactions more transparently, protect genuine deductions, and modernize the way business records are kept. Initially, the system applied to VAT-registered taxpayers. It ushered businesses into a new era of real-time, digital reporting, simplifying compliance, enhancing transparency, and curbing revenue leakages.
On 25 July 2025, however, the URA shook the nation again with General Notice No. 2218 of 2025 in the Uganda Gazette, quietly expanding EFRIS beyond its original scope. Effective 1 July 2025, twelve additional sectors and business categories regardless of VAT status are now mandated to issue EFRIS-compliant invoices and receipts. These newly covered sectors are:
Wholesale and Retail of Fuel
Mining and Quarrying
Manufacturing
Electricity, Gas, Steam, and Air Conditioning Supply
Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities
Construction
Transportation and Storage
Accommodation and Food Service Activities
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Real Estate Activities
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
In Uganda’s bustling marketplaces, dusty backplaces, buzzing workshops, and vibrant service hubs, the silent mandate of EFRIS 2.0 is already weaving itself into everyday transactions. From the fuel pumps at roadside stations to construction sites, from hotels to IT firms and creative studios, businesses must now shift, digitally, into a new era of accountability.
The expansion of EFRIS is more than just a regulatory update, it’s a statement. It signals the government’s intention to modernize revenue collection without introducing new taxes. Businesses including small ICT consultants, boutique hotels, artisanal creators, technical service providers, and informal real estate agents are now within the EFRIS net.
As of 1 July 2025, these businesses, regardless of VAT registration, must issue invoices or receipts either via URA’s EFRIS platform or URA-authenticated devices. This means that sale or service transactions in these sectors must be digitally recorded, complete with URA validation, as part of the tax ecosystem.
Non-compliance no longer involves a mere warning, this is a costly gamble. Under the Tax Procedures Code Act, businesses failing to issue a valid EFRIS invoice are liable for a penalty of UGX 6 million or the tax due on the goods/services, whichever is higher. Crucially, customers in these newly included sectors must insist on valid EFRIS documentation, or their incurred expenses risk being disallowed as deductible when filing income tax returns. Here, the compliance burden cascades through the entire supply chain.
This expansion is not arbitrary. URA is smartly harnessing digital infrastructure to expand its oversight without creating new taxes. By broadening EFRIS’s reach, the tax authority gains insight into transactions across key sectors, insight previously lost in informal operations. This paves the way for better tracking of revenue, identification of undeclared businesses, and ultimately, sustainable revenue growth, all without policy upheaval.
Adapting to EFRIS isn’t seamless. Some regions face connectivity challenges, others lack digitization resources. Training staff, integrating systems, and acquainting customers with new norms require effort. These are immediate hurdles.
Yet, the long-term advantages are compelling. Digital invoicing fosters accurate records, improves financial transparency, simplifies tax filing, and builds trust with customers, investors, and financial partners. For many, early compliance means a competitive edge in a rapidly formalizing market.
URA’s signal is unmistakable. EFRIS is becoming the norm, not the exception. Those in sectors yet to be designated should observe this shift as both warning and guide, preparation is better than reaction. URA has hinted at additional sectors being added in future notices, underlining that the digital revolution in tax is an ongoing journey.
The expansion of EFRIS to twelve new sectors is not just a tax policy update, it’s a cultural shift in how commerce is recorded and regulated. For businesses, embracing EFRIS means protecting their clients’ ability to claim tax deductions, securing operations against fines, and embracing the professionalism that transparency brings.
EFRIS is no longer a feature for a few and it’s never a tax like how my local business men and women in Kikuubo thought, it’s becoming the backbone of Uganda’s economic system. Compliance isn’t just smart, it’s essential. The future rewards the prepared, and the digital receipts of today may well determine tomorrow’s success.
The writer is a Chartered Accountant & a certified Tax Advisor