By Ben Musanje
Uganda is taking another major step towards a more digital, transparent and efficient business environment, with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) expanding the use of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) to more sectors of the economy.
Under a new public notice released in the newspapers of Monday, August 10, 2026, businesses in manufacturing, construction, accommodation and food services, transport and storage, information and communication technology, real estate, professional services, arts and entertainment, fuel wholesale and retail, among other sectors, are required to use EFRIS to issue electronic invoices and receipts.
The expanded requirement took effect on July 1, 2025, adding to the existing mandatory EFRIS obligation for VAT-registered taxpayers.
But importantly, the expansion has also taken into account the realities of Uganda’s smallest businesses — the omuntu wawansi, or ordinary small business person whose enterprise is still operating on a modest scale.
Smallest businesses given room to grow
The latest URA notice specifically exempts small businesses operating in the listed sectors whose annual turnover is below Shs10 million from the mandatory requirement to issue e-invoices or e-receipts through EFRIS.
Such businesses may, however, choose to use EFRIS voluntarily.
This means that the expansion is not simply a blanket requirement placed on every small trader regardless of the size of their business. Instead, the framework creates room for the smallest enterprises to continue growing while bringing larger and more established businesses into the digital invoicing system.
For the small business person, this threshold provides breathing space — while also offering the opportunity to adopt EFRIS voluntarily as the business grows.
EFRIS becoming part of doing business
As more businesses move onto EFRIS, electronic fiscal documents are increasingly becoming an important part of ordinary commercial transactions.
Under the new requirements, businesses that are required to use EFRIS must issue electronic invoices or receipts, while business buyers need to pay increasing attention to the documentation they receive from suppliers.
The URA notice further states that no income tax deduction will be allowed for an expense that is not supported by an e-invoice or e-receipt where the supplier is required to use EFRIS.
This means that for businesses buying goods and services for their operations, an EFRIS-generated receipt or invoice is no longer simply a piece of paperwork — it can be important evidence supporting a business expense.
The documents also carry features such as a fiscal document number, verification code and QR code, making transactions easier to validate.
The result is a business environment in which keeping proper electronic records is increasingly becoming part of doing business.
Uganda joining a wider regional shift
Uganda is not moving in isolation.
Across the East African region, neighbouring countries have also embraced digital systems for recording and verifying business transactions. Kenya operates the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS), while Rwanda uses Electronic Billing Machines (EBM). Kenya requires persons engaged in business to onboard eTIMS, while Rwanda’s EBM system has been used for electronic invoicing for years.
The systems have different names and rules, but the direction is broadly similar: East African economies are moving away from purely manual invoicing towards electronic systems that improve the recording, verification and management of business transactions.
For Uganda, EFRIS therefore forms part of a wider digital transformation of commerce and tax administration in the region.
More than a tax compliance tool
URA’s message is that EFRIS is not only about tax collection.
The system records transaction information electronically and transmits it to URA in real time. For businesses, this can support better record keeping, stock monitoring and sales management, while reducing the risk of losing physical invoices and receipts. URA also says EFRIS can support faster processing of refund claims and, in future, pre-filled tax returns.
For honest businesses, the system can also contribute to a fairer marketplace by making it harder for businesses to understate transactions and gain an unfair advantage over compliant competitors.
In that sense, the expansion of EFRIS is being presented as part of a broader effort to build a business environment where records are clearer, transactions are easier to verify and compliant businesses are better protected from unfair competition.
URA says sensitization will continue
The transition to digital invoicing has also been accompanied by taxpayer education and sensitization.
URA says it has been training and assisting taxpayers across the country on EFRIS, including through workshops, tax hubs, media engagements, webinars, Tax Barazas and direct outreach to businesses.
In Kampala Central Business District alone, URA reported extensive EFRIS engagement between November 2023 and March 2024, including door-to-door outreach to more than 15,000 traders, workshops involving thousands of traders and distribution of EFRIS information materials.
The message is therefore not simply about enforcement.
It is about helping businesses understand the system, preparing them to use it and showing them how digital records can also become useful business-management tools.
And as more sectors come on board, URA says the sensitization and support will continue.
For Uganda’s business community, the direction is clear: the future of commerce is increasingly digital, better documented and more transparent — while the smallest businesses are being given room to grow into that future. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
