In every modern economy, governments and businesses interact with two broad categories of persons: individuals and non-individuals. An individual is a natural person, a citizen, taxpayer, teacher, doctor, trader, employee, or landowner.
A non-individual, on the other hand, refers to entities such as companies, partnerships, trusts, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), cooperatives, associations, foundations, schools, hospitals, clubs and government bodies.
Behind every non-individual are real people: directors, shareholders, trustees, beneficial owners, managers, accountants, lawyers, and agents.
Every company contract, bank transaction, procurement process, or tax obligation ultimately connects back to individuals who own, manage, or benefit from that entity.
For any modern State to function efficiently, it must clearly answer two questions: Who is this individual? And what is this non-individual? Uganda has made major progress in identifying individuals through the National Identification Number (NIN) managed by the National Identification and Registration Authority.
The next critical step is creating the same certainty for non-individuals. Today, one entity may appear differently across multiple systems.
A company can have one number at registration, another for tax, another in procurement systems, another in licensing databases, and yet another in banking records. In many cases, names are abbreviated, misspelled, duplicated, or changed across institutions.
This fragmentation creates confusion, increases the cost of doing business, slows service delivery, and weakens regulation and accountability. It also creates opportunities for fraud, tax evasion, conflict of interest, and misuse of legal entities.
Under the Tax Procedures Code framework, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau has been mandated to establish and maintain the Non-Individual Register (NIR). The register will assign one trusted and unique number to every non-individual operating in Uganda. This number will serve as the common reference across government and private sector systems, including taxation, licensing, procurement, banking, and regulatory services.
Names alone are not enough. They can change, be duplicated or inconsistently recorded. However, a unique and well-governed number creates certainty, consistency, and trust across systems. For private sector, this reform will reduce duplication and simplify compliance.
Entities should not repeatedly submit the same information to different agencies. A shared and trusted identifier means faster verification, easier access to services, and lower administrative costs.
For the government, the benefits are greater. A common identifier allows agencies to link information across registration, taxation, licensing, procurement, land administration, and financial regulation systems.
Authorities can more easily identify active, dormant, dissolved, compliant, or non-compliant entities. The register will also strengthen transparency by linking non-individuals to the people behind them, such as directors, shareholders, trustees, beneficial owners, and authorised signatories. The purpose of the Non-Individual Register is build trust and certainty in Uganda’s economy.
The Non-Individual Register should not be viewed as merely a URSB project. It is part of Uganda’s broader digital public infrastructure and a foundation for modern governance, digital commerce, and efficient public service delivery.
The principle is simple: identify every non-individual once, assign one trusted number and use it everywhere.