Articles

Written by: Fiona Magona | Sonal Sejpal  Account-holders may be held liable for loss suffered due to banking fraud On 18 July 2022, the Ugandan High Court issued a landmark decision on the liability for loss suffered due to digital bank fraud in the case of Aida Atiku versus Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited, (the defendant/bank) Civil Suit No. 0754 of 2020.

Introduction Transacting online for work, school, banking, or pleasure, and therefore exchanging personal information, has never been more pronounced than today. Social distancing brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated reliance on the internet. As a result, cybercrime is a great threat and the encroachment to the right to privacy of information is heightened each day.

COURT OF APPEAL CIVIL APPEAL NO. 219 OF 2013 – NECTA (U) LTD AND JOHN NDYABAGYE VS CRANE BANK LIMITED. The Court of Appeal has revisited and emphasized various aspects in regard to validity of mortgages, execution and attestation of mortgage deeds. Court emphasized obligations of both the mortgagor and mortgagee in that respect thus widening the scope of the mortgagee’s inquiry into the borrower’s constitutional documents to ascertain whether the relevant authorizations have been duly obtained.

The Trademarks Regulations No.58 of 2012 (the Regulations) passed under the Trademarks Act No.17, 2010 (the Act) were recently amended by the Trademark (Amendment) Regulations No. 9 of 2021 (the Amendment). The Amendment is commendable as it bridges gaps in many practical aspects of the law. It brings changes to twenty-six (26) provisions of the Regulations with the most notable being operationalization of the Register of agents, introduction of an IP journal, and payment for extension of time.

The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act 2020 which came into force on 1st July 2020 has revised the rate of stamp duty payable on debentures, equitable mortgages and further charges Effective 1st July 2020, stamp duty has been waived on debentures, equitable mortgages and further charges. Previously, a stamp duty of 0.5% was payable on debentures. Under the now repealed item 27, 30 and item 33 of the 2014 Stamp Duty Amendment Act, stamp duty of 0.5% of the value of the facility was payable on debentures, equitable mortgages and further charges.

Operators in the telecommunications sector have been notified by the regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (“UCC”), that effective 1st July 2020, the new licensing framework will come into force. The new licensing framework introduces the following key licenses:    •  NTO – National Telecom Operator license, covering telecom infrastructure and services operations across Uganda;

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE TAX LEGISLATION IN UGANDA -TAX AMENDMENT (BILLS), 2020 INTRODUCTION The Hon. Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development presented to Parliament the Tax Amendment Bills 2020 on 31st March 2020 with proposed changes to Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Excise Duty and Stamp Duty. We summarize the key proposed changes in this Alert. INCOME TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2020. Business Income: a) Minimum tax payable by a loss making person