Title: When EFRIS Fails the Test: How to Close Revenue Collection Loopholes in Uganda
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Musiimenta Nancy, Akampurira Sarah
Volume: 10
Issue: 5
Pages: 461-469
Publication Date: 2026/05/28
Abstract:
This study examined the structural vulnerabilities of Uganda's Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) and identified key revenue collection loopholes that undermine fiscal compliance among registered taxpayers. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 320 tax professionals, traders, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) compliance officers, and technology stakeholders operating within five major urban commercial centres in Uganda. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to identify latent dimensions of EFRIS failure, including systemic infrastructure weaknesses, taxpayer non-compliance behaviour, institutional enforcement deficits, and digital literacy gaps. Logistic regression and correlation analyses were further applied to assess determinants of fiscal receipt issuance and their association with observed revenue leakage. Findings revealed that only 34% of sampled traders consistently issued EFRIS-compliant receipts, while systemic connectivity failures were the most dominant factor loading (0.78) in the infrastructure failure construct. Tax evasion via invoice manipulation was identified as the most prevalent non-compliance behaviour, accounting for 41.2% of reported loopholes. Digital literacy deficits and weak real-time audit capacity were found to be significant moderating factors in EFRIS utilisation failure. The study concludes that EFRIS's transformative potential is being constrained by compounding technical, behavioural, and institutional failure modes that demand a coordinated, multi-pronged reform strategy. Recommendations include mandatory EFRIS integration with mobile money platforms, deployment of AI-based anomaly detection in URA audit systems, and structured taxpayer digital literacy programmes. These findings carry significant policy implications for Uganda's tax modernisation agenda and contribute to the broader literature on e-governance revenue systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.