The Tax of Shs. 100,000 charged as stamp duty on all professionals’ licenses has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Uganda in Uganda Law Society & others v the Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No.032 of 2020)
In an unprecedented united effort, in early 2020, all professional bodies in Uganda; including lawyers, engineers, doctors, and certified public accountants among others, came together through their Presidents and petitioned the Constitutional Court that Section 2(h) of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act, 2020 which imposes stamp duty of Ugx. 100,000 on every practicing certificate is inconsistent with the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
This week, the Constitutional Court unanimously decided in favor of the petitioners on all three counts.
The petition was brought under Article 137 (3) of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and supported by Affidavits of several officials including Nabasa Pheona Wall, then President of Uganda Law Society detailing the alleged deleterious effect of the impugned provision.
The court held that Section 2(h) of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act, 2020 is void and inconsistent Articles 21 (1) and (3), 40 (1), 152 (1), and 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. Not only is it discriminatory against the members of each of their professions in private practice, but the requirement to pay the Ugx 100,000 in order to obtain a license or certificate places a disproportionate burden that hangs over their heads on top of other levies collected through their regulatory bodies for the same certificates.