All livestock farmers in Uganda are required to be registered with;

• Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) for Company registration or a Certificate of registration if you’re an individual.
• Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for taxes

Please note:

Upon registration, the farmer is required to comply with the requirements of statutory bodies like

Department of animal resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, animal industry and fisheries.

For individual

• National ID or any other two of the following valid identification documents;  Passport, Driving permit, Voter’s card, Village ID, Employment ID, Refugee ID, recent Bank statement, Work permit, financial card, Visa, NSSF card etc.
• Certificate of registration (incase you are in business)
• Statement of particulars and partnership deeds (incase of a partnership)

For non-individual

• Company Form 20
• Certificate of incorporation

Click herefor details on requirements for registration

• You’re required to visit the URA portal on ura.go.ug
• Click hereto register as an individual
• Click hereto register as a non-individual

Click herefor your rights as a taxpayer.

Click herefor your obligations as a taxpayer.

A livestock farmer has to keep records relating to all business transactions. It is important to always have records that are dated so that you can understand which reports relate to what period. These include;

• Income statement records
• List of receipts and payments
• Balance sheet
• Payroll for your employees
• Import schedules
• Contracts
• Bank statements
• Appointment letters
• Utility bills
• Stock records
• Asset registers
• Invoices
• Debtors and Creditors

It is very important for a livestock farmer to;

• keep proper records of all business transactions in the English language. Where a record is not in English, the taxpayer will be required to meet the cost of translation into English by a translator approved by the Commissioner
• keep records such that it is easy to determine their tax liability;
• keep records for five years after the end of the tax period to which they relate for future reference.
• In case a record is necessary for a proceeding that started before the end of the 5-year period, a taxpayer shall keep the record until the end of the proceedings.
• The records kept should contain sufficient transaction information and should be saved in a format that is capable of being recovered and converted to a standard understandable record format.
• A taxpayer who wishes to keep records in a different language or currency shall apply in writing with clear reasons to the commissioner for permission.

Any person dealing in commercial agriculture business is required to register for income tax. Income tax applies generally to all types of persons who derive income, whether an individual, non-individual or partnership.

Corporation tax

This is tax imposed on all companies in Uganda at a standard rate of 30%. A livestock farmer must register for this tax.

Rate of tax for Resident individuals

Rate of tax for Non-Resident individuals

Withholding tax (WHT) at importation

This is income tax withheld at importation of a good. It is at a rate of 6% of customs value (WHT = Customs value x 6%).

If a livestock farmer chooses to import supplies exceeding UGX 1,000,000, it is required to charge withholding tax at a rate of 6% which is later remitted to URA.

It can be used to clear part of the tax payable by the farmer when filing the final income tax return.

Note. If the importer is exempted from WHT, he/she should not be charged this tax at importation

Click here  for more information on Withholding tax.

Do I register for Value Added Tax (VAT)?

Since a livestock farmer deals in exempt supplies, there is no requirement to register for VAT.

However, if you’re a commercial livestock farmer, you can register for VAT using the voluntary registration window and this can enable you to claim for your input VAT (VAT on purchases).

Please note: You are required to pay for import VAT for agricultural inputs that are standard rated.

Click here for more information on VAT

Import duty

This is a tax imposed on imports and some exports not listed in the exemption

schedule by URA. It is based on the customs value of the goods that are imported.

If a livestock farmer chooses to import you should pay import duty on items imported.

 Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

Any livestock farmer with workers/employees earning a monthly salary more than 235,000 UGX per month is required to register for Pay As You Earn (PAYE), withhold and remit tax to URA.

Click here for the PAYE rates