The Uganda Revenue Authority ("URA")
recently issued a notice urging the public to comply with the
Stamp Duty Act by paying duty on agreements executed or received in
Uganda. The notice has sparked debate on several legal concerns
including the interpretation of the law, enforceability of
unstamped agreements and the applicability of stamp duty to
electronic and oral contracts.
This duty is a tax imposed on signed documents that confer a
right or liability on the parties. The stamp duty rate may either
be a flat fee of UGX 15,000 for each original document or may
depend on the value of the instrument.
In the notice, URA highlighted the agreements subject to stamp
duty include sale agreements, purchase agreements, rental
contracts, employment contracts, and loan agreements, among others.
The notice further emphasises that any person who executes an
agreement without paying the required stamp duty commits an offence
punishable by a fine not exceeding UGX 2,000,000,
