The Uganda Bankers Association which brings together over 20 different commercial banks and financial institutions in the country is hesitant to ask its members to release all bank account details of all their customers as recently requested by Ugandan Revenue Authority.
The Tax body on March 16th this year wrote to all Commercial Banks under the association, requiring them to provide bank account information on all Ugandan account holders, from January 1st 2016, to 31st December 2017.
It is unclear why URA wants such a large volume of bank data.
In the letter by the URA’s Domestic Taxes Commissioner Henry Saka, Banks are required to provide account information detailing account holders’ addresses, Telephone numbers, email addresses, the total cash deposits to these accounts in the above mentioned period, their withdraws, and balance, their Tax Identification Numbers and National Identification Numbers.
The Ugandan Bankers Association have since responded to this request, declining to release this information pending clearance from Bank of Uganda.
“Member Banks have brought this matter to the attention of the regulator to provide guidance,” wrote UBA’s Executive Director Wilbrod Humphrey in response to URA’s Saka.
“In the circumstances, Banks are constrained to act, pending directions from the Regulator.”
URA Speaks Out
URA spokesperson Vincent Seruma when reached to explain this grand request, said the Authority is in its legal confines to ask for the bank account details.
“We are acting within the provisions of the law, but also this is information that we use in doing our day to day business,” he said.
“The public needs to realize that our work largely depends on information. If there is any piece of information that we believe will be useful in enhancing our operations, we will ask concerned parties to provide us with this information.”
Mr Vincent Seruma added that the request is not unprecedented, stressing, “world-over, there is no limitation for information for a tax body. This is normal practice.”
Asked whether or not URA would commit to guaranteeing protection of this information as banks are required by law, Seruma responded; “We have as much data about tax payers, as any of these banks. Even some entities have tried to get information about their competitors from URA, but I think you can agree that we have demonstrated that a lot of tax payers’ information has been very well managed.”
