Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee have queried BIDCO Uganda’s failure to clear Value Added Tax (VAT) worth 744 million Uganda shillings when it’s provided with free land for growing palm oil seeds for oil extraction in Kalangala and other areas.
MPs were interfacing with the officials from the ministry of finance led by the ministry’s undersecretary Betty Kasimbazi at the committee chaired by Soroti district woman MP Angelina Ossege.

According to the Auditor General’s report of the financial year 2014/15, the ministry of finance failed to recover 744.4 million Uganda shillings from BIDCO in form VAT.

Masaka Municipality MP Mathias Mpuga

Committee member MPs who included; Masaka municipality MP,  Mathius Mpuuga ,Woman MP Agago district, Franca Akello and Angelina Ossege, Soroti district  wondered how BIDCO which was  given 260,000 hectares  of free land is defaulting on taxes.
MPs also noted that the same company is about to be given more 6000 hectares of land at areas around Lake Victoria for palm oil growing after the investor threatened to walk out if more land is not allocated for this project.

The MPs said that the expenditure on BIDCO in terms of land is too much on to country’s economy and they demanded the ministry of finance to avail to the committee the period given to BIDCO as tax incentive.

The legislators said  BIDCO Uganda’s failure to clear Value Added Tax (VAT) worth 744 million Uganda shillings when it’s provided with free land for growing palm oil seeds for oil extraction in Kalangala and other areas is a disservice to government which provides all these other conducive avenues for it to do business in the country.

MPs were interfacing with the officials from the ministry of finance led by the ministry’s undersecretary Betty Kasimbazi at the committee chaired by Soroti district woman MP Angelina Ossege.

According to the Auditor General’s report of the financial year 2014/15, the ministry of finance failed to recover 744.4 million Uganda shillings from BIDCO in form VAT.

Committee member MPs who included; Masaka municipality MP,  Mathius Mpuuga ,Woman MP Agago district, Franca Akello and Angelina Ossege, Soroti district  wondered how BIDCO which was  given 260,000 hectares  of free land is defaulting on taxes.

MPs also noted that the same company is about to be given more 6000 hectares of land at areas around Lake Victoria for palm oil growing after the investor threatened to walk out if more land is not allocated for this project.

The MPs said that the expenditure on BIDCO in terms of land is too much on to country’s economy and they demanded the ministry of finance to avail to the committee the period given to BIDCO as tax incentive.