It is often said that two things in life are certain – death and taxes. An efficient tax management regime is a sine qua non for successful business operations, and with a good tax lawyer, the burden of taxes can properly be weighed, deferred, reduced or extinguished altogether. 

The lawyers at Meritas Advocates are at the forefront of shaping tax policy and tax jurisprudence in Uganda and beyond, representing local and international businesses in complex high-profile disputes and transactions. We help our clients navigate the often highly technical statutes upon which the taxes are based, which are often written in favour of the taxing body. 

• The Firm has successfully handled various tax matters for a cross-section of clientele in all sectors of the economy at the national, regional and international levels. Our key areas of focus include:Domestic Tax Advisory and Litigation
• International Tax Advisory and Litigation
• VAT: returns, apportionment and adjustment, objections, appeals and litigation
• Customs law, procedures, classification and valuation
• Tax Registration and Filing Tax Returns for both Resident and Non-resident persons
• Tax Audits and Review
• Tax Exemptions and Tax Refunds
• Effective Tax Structures and Tax Planning
• Transfer Pricing
• Double Tax Agreements and Re-insurance Contracts
• Specialized Tax Regimes and Large Scale Transactions in Oil & Gas; Energy; Mining & Infrastructure; Banking and Insurance; & Commerce and Trade
• Lobbying and negotiating fiscal regimes for large-scale investment projects

1. Retained by AbInBev and Nile Breweries Ltd (a subsidiary of AbInBev), a leading beer manufacturer on the Tax Advisory and Litigation panel.
2. Successfully rrepresented Nile Breweries Ltd in a Tax Dispute in respect to Transfer Pricing Tax assessments of Ugx.59 Billion in the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
3. Together with Kampala Associated advocates, represented a leading beer manufacturer the client in a Tax Dispute against Uganda Revenue Authority involving Excise Duty and Value Added Tax assessments arising from the export of Beer to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
4. Successfully represented Stanbic Bank in the Tax Appeals Tribunal in a tax liability dispute of UGX21bn which had been transferred by the Uganda Revenue Authority to the Bank allegedly for an agency notice which had not been effected.   
5. Acted as Lead Counsel for a leading licensed financial institution in UGX. 22 billion transferred tax liability claim by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) before the Tax Appeals Tribunal. Successfully obtained three injunctive reliefs against URA and the matters were settled with no tax liability for the financial institution.
6. Represented Uganda’s state-owned electricity distribution company, UEDCL, in a UGX21 billion tax dispute with Umeme Limited and URA at the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
7. Acted for the client in a depreciation allowance claim of UX20bn by Umeme Limited in the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
8. Retained by some of the market leaders including financial institutions, downstream oil companies, advertising, logistics and transport companies in complex commercial tax litigation in Uganda’s Tax Appeals Tribunal, Arbitration Tribunals, Administrative Tribunals and Superior Courts of Record at national and regional levels.
9.