Ssesaazi & Company Advocates

31/12/2020

A happy new year 2021

21/12/2020

Land law alert

In the case of Molly Turinawe & 4 Others vs. Eng. Ephraim Turinawe & Dewark Ltd, SCCA No. 10 of 2018. The justices where of the following views

1. Mere registration on the title is not conclusive proof of ownership. The circumstances of the transfer of the property will have to be investigated as the justice of the case demands.

2. A resulting trust is created on land even though the land may be registered in another's name, for as long as the consideration for the purchase of the land was made by the person not named on the title as proprietor.

3. Merely being someone's spouse is not sufficient to create an interest in land. The land must be owned by the person named as proprietor and the family of that person must be deriving sustainance (income) from the land

4. Rented property is not and does not qualify as family property within the meaning of section 39 of the Land Act

18/12/2020

Congratulations to our esteemed client Ambiance Distillers Limited to this Award! The people’s choice for the best blended Alcohol in 2020.

11/11/2020

The National Payment Systems Act, 2020.(NAPS ACT)

The NPS Act was as a result of an increase in the use of digital and electronic financial services by private entities offering various electronic payment services. In addition, financial institutions were favoring electronic payments and adopting branchless banking systems and had introduced the automated clearing house for clearing cheques and high-volume electronic funds transfers.

In addition, there remained a lack of regulation and supervision of payment service providers by the Central Bank. The Financial Institutions Act, 2004 posed limitations as it applied only to deposit taking institutions The payment service providers would pick and choose how they would wish to be regulated because of the vacuum in regulation. With further technological developments in the area and increased usage by the population, the Bank of Uganda had to act (though it took this long) to keep up with these developments Uganda being an an open market space.

THE MAJOR FEATURES OF THE NPS ACT

To whom does this law Apply.

The law applies to operators of payment systems, payment service providers and issuers of payment instruments and applies to any system or technology that enables the electronic transfer of money including electronic payments and remittances, electronic funds transfers, mobile money operators, card-based payments, aggregators, payment gateways, online payment service providers and electronic payments.

Where and how does Bank of Uganda Come in?

This law grants the Central Bank the mandate to operate, supervise, regulate and oversee the various payments systems in Uganda to ensure their safety and efficiency. Under the NPS Act, the Central Bank has the legal mandate to perform licensing of payment system providers and e-money issuers, modify licences, issue corrective actions and revoke licences where necessary. It will also provide norms and standards for providers of payment system services, to request and gather payments related information, conduct on-site and off-site examinations, appoint an external auditor, take enforcement actions and oversee insolvency proceedings in case of commencement by a payment systems provider. The Central Bank also has the power to make regulations on liquidity, fair competition, customer diligence, anti-money laundering and transaction limits.

Categorisation of payment systems

The Act classifies payment systems in Uganda into three broad areas including;

Systems operated by the Central Bank including Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), Automated Clearing House (ACH) System and Central Securities Depository (“CSD”);
Payment services provided by commercial banks such as CSD by the Uganda Securities Exchange, internet banking, e-money – bank to wallet and wallet to bank, ATMs provided by commercial banks, POS provided by commercial banks and merchants; and
Private sector payment systems including e-money providers like mobile money telecommunication companies, single purpose stored value cards, e-commerce, aggregators/integrators and remittance companies, all of which fall under the regulation of the Central Bank.
Regulatory sandbox framework

The Act provides for a regulatory sandbox framework. Regulatory sandboxes offer a space to test new technology in the financial services sector for a limited time without having to undergo the licensing route. They encourage innovation of new products while still ensuring adequate consumer protection in a relaxed regulatory environment. The framework does not require a licence however the approval of the Central Bank must be obtained.

Restrictions on certain transactions

The Act provides for permissible and prohibited transactions. Permissible transactions under the Act include domestic payments, domestic money transfers, bulk transactions including payment of salaries benefits and pensions, cash in and cash out transactions, merchants or utility payments, cross border payments or transfers, savings and credit products in partnership with a Supervised Financial Institution (SFI) and Central Bank approval, insurance products in partnership with a licensed insurer and any other transaction approved by the Central Bank.

Whereas prohibited transactions include deposit taking by electronic money issuers other than SFIs or micro finance and deposit taking institutions (MDFIs), over-the-counter transactions unless the identification of the depositor is obtained, recorded and transmitted to the receiver, issuing airtime as electronic money and any other activity other than that which the licensee is approved to

The law also sets up a requirement for a payment service provider, a financial institution or microfinance deposit taking institution, other than an entity solely established to issue electronic money, that intends issue electronic money to incorporate a subsidiary legal entity for that purpose.

The Act also provides ways as to how customers money will be kept and the ways by which Bank of Uganda will supervise the provision of these services.

What remains is for Bank of Uganda to pass the regulations required to operationalise the provisions of the Act once it becomes law.

10/11/2020

TAX CASE ALERT:

On 2/11/2020. The High Court of Uganda Commercial Division in NSSF Vs. URA, upheld an appeal by NSSF from the decision of the Tax Appeals Tribunal and held that the interest paid by NSSF to its members is a deductible expense for income tax purposes.

The Judge noted that the contribution by the members creates a debt obligation as between NSSF and its members.

02/11/2020

The managing partner wishes you a happy new month of November! Remember your business is safe with the right team around you!

30/10/2020

Rental Income tax 🚨

25/10/2020

Employment law department:

We deal with a wide range of contentious employment matters, including terminations and and dismissals, as well as advising on non-contentious issues. We advise employers and employees on redundancy situations, restructuring and negotiating exit packages for senior executives, bonus issues and employee shareholder disputes.

20/10/2020

SUPREME COURT DECISION ALERT 🚨

The Supreme Court of Uganda has today in the case of MAGOMBE JOSHUA V UGANDA held that the Appellate Courts have no powers to grant Bail pending Appeal. The Court has held that such provisions are unconstitutional.

What’s your take!?

14/10/2020

In light of the on going court battle between Ham Enterprises v Diamond Trust Bank, Bank of Uganda has come up with this statement.

08/10/2020

Take note!

20/06/2019

The Managing Director of Bank of Baroda Ashwini Kumara found a difficult time explaining to the commission of inquiry into land matters how the bank advanced a loan to a dead person. The commission heard that the bank had given the late Joseph Maria Sseruwo Shs 51 million in September 1994, a mo

02/05/2019

24/02/2019

Actions of impunity such as these should have no place in modern time! Government agencies should not be seen to undermine each other and on top of it all we at Ssesaazi & Co. Advocates condemn any sort of violence against women.