When a missed tax deadline costs USD 100,000

The deadline behind the penalty

USD 100,000 was the cost of failing to provide information on time in Total Energies EP Uganda v Uganda Revenue Authority. On 15 December 2025, the Tax Appeals Tribunal upheld the penalty and awarded costs to URA. [1]

The dispute arose during a transfer pricing audit. URA requested documents in August 2023 and, in a letter dated 27 November 2023, required the outstanding information by 31 December 2023.

On 10 January 2024, TotalEnergies supplied further information but explained that substantial documentation was still being obtained from its group headquarters in France. URA issued the USD 100,000 penalty that same day. The Tribunal found that the company had repeatedly failed to comply with the deadlines stated in URA’s letters. [1]

Why the wording of the law mattered

The dispute required the Tribunal to consider how section 89QA(1) of the Income Tax Act—identified in the ruling as the provision now numbered section 112—worked alongside the Tax Procedures Code Act.

The Tribunal read the legislation together. It held that the special penalty provision displaced the conflicting penalty amount in the Tax Procedures Code Act, while the rules governing the time for providing information continued to apply. It also relied on the Commissioner General’s power to require information within a period specified in a written notice. [1]

The Tribunal explained that the penalty serves to deter non-compliance and secure timely performance of tax obligations. On the facts before it, the USD 100,000 assessment was lawful. This was a decision about the particular statutory regime and information requests in the case; the amount is not a standard penalty for every late tax response.

A response is only complete when the information is delivered and the evidence of submission is kept.

When the records sit with a group company

TotalEnergies’ explanation pointed to a familiar operational difficulty: the local finance team needed records held elsewhere in the group. That dependency did not remove the deadline.

In its closing observations, the Tribunal emphasised the complexity of transfer pricing audits and the need for prompt cooperation from parent companies and associated entities. For a Ugandan subsidiary, the practical response is to involve those teams as soon as a request arrives and track what each must provide. [1]

Three actions for your tax and finance team

• Respond within the stated time and keep the evidence. Record the date of receipt, the deadline and every requested item. Assign an owner, submit the required information on time, and retain the covering letter, document list and delivery acknowledgement. Check that the submitted files can be opened.
• Resolve interpretation questions early. Read the relevant tax provisions together and identify the law applicable to the period. If a request is unclear or a document is unavailable, raise the issue promptly with URA. Keep a written record of any agreed extension; do not assume that a partial response or an unanswered request changes the deadline.
• Bring in competent advisers before the deadline. Use experienced tax consultants, tax planners or lawyers to assess the request, coordinate the response and review gaps. Advice sought early gives the team time to act while records can still be assembled.

Today’s profit can become tomorrow’s penalty when tax obligations are left unresolved. Treat the deadline, the legal analysis and the submission record as parts of the same responsibility.

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Source and case details

1. Tax Appeals Tribunal: Total Energies EP Uganda v Uganda Revenue Authority, Application No. 131 of 2024, ruling dated 15 December 2025. See paragraphs 3–5, 69–85 and 86–87.

Adapted from Kisaka & Company’s tax appeal update posted on 9 January 2026. Dates and statutory references have been checked against the Tribunal’s ruling. This note discusses that decision; the treatment of a particular matter depends on its facts and the applicable law.