What You Should Know About Investing And Investment Licences In Uganda

According to the Investment Code Act 1991, Section 15 (1 and 2), Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) shall issue to the applicant an investment license which shall; Authorize the holder of a license to make all arrangements necessary for establishing the business enterprise described in the license. The Executive Director shall liaise with Government Ministries and departments, local authorities and other bodies as may be necessary in order to assist an investment license holder to comply with any formalities or requirements for obtaining any permission, authorizations, licenses, land and other requirements for implementing the business enterprise.

After a company has been incorporated/ registered (foreign company) in Uganda, it is eligible for an investment license provided its capital investment exceeds US$ 100,000 (Foreign firms) and US $ 50,000 (Local firms).

Application for an investment license is made to Uganda Investment Authority. After all required documentation is submitted along with the filled application form, the investment license is issued within one week.

Documentation required includes:

Copy of the Certificate of Incorporation Copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association A business plan Proof of financial ability to implement proposed project i.e. bank statement or letter project support form a bank. Proof of proposed physical location of project Secondary Licenses. There are some sectors that require regulatory approvals from the relevant entities and these include: energy generation, mining, banking, air transport, pharmaceuticals production, education and health. In most cases, the regulatory approvals/permits/or licenses must be acquired before applying for the Investment License.

Benefits Of An Investment License

Benefits of an Investment License to the Holder The benefits that accrue to the holder of an investment license include:

Assistance in acquiring secondary licenses or approvals except in the following sectors, where a secondary license is mandatory i.e. mining, banking, drugs/ pharmaceutical, as well as the health and education services. Assistance in recommendations for various services e.g. loans from commercial banks, project development assistance from Development Partners, and introductions to Equity Funders etc. Assistance in recommendations and the follow up on the acquisition of work permits Assistance in access to land for investment. Industrial land can be allocated land in the operational and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT