How collection works

Control numbers and payment references

Q: How long is a URA payment registration slip valid?

A 2023 Atomic Energy Council notice says 21 days.

Last checked 24 October 2026 · 8 sources

Short answer

A control number is a payment reference that a government body issues with a bill. The payer quotes it at a bank, on mobile money or in a transfer, so the payment can be matched to the bill. In Tanzania, every GePG bill must carry a control number, a payment reference and a service provider code ¹. Uganda's URA uses a Payment Registration Number (PRN) printed on a payment registration slip ², which a 2023 notice says is valid for 21 days ³.

Tanzania reference: GePG control number on each bill ¹
Tanzania payment types: Partial, exact or full ⁴
Tanzania bank transfers: Control number in the transfer message, prefixed ROC ¹
Uganda reference: Payment Registration Number (PRN) on a payment registration slip ²
Uganda slip validity: 21 days, per a 19 April 2023 notice ³
Official pages: gepg.go.tz and ura.go.ug ^5,2

What a control number does

A control number ties one payment to one bill. Tanzania's GePG guide says payers enter it when paying through mobile money, banks or transfers ¹. The bank or mobile operator sends the payment to GePG under that number, and the payer gets a GePG receipt ¹.

Matching matters for the accounts. PEFA scores whether revenue bodies reconcile collections and transfers to the treasury ⁶. The IMF describes daily bank statements checked against taxpayer records ⁷.

What a GePG bill must show

Control number, payment reference and service provider code ¹.
Payer name and mobile number ¹.
Bill description and service type ¹.
Amount due in figures and in words ¹.
Printed date and expiry date ¹.
Name of the issuer, the person who printed it and a signature ¹.

Partial, exact and full payments

If a payer uses the wrong control number, the GePG FAQ says the payer files a claim with the service provider. The service provider then debits the wrong number and credits the right one ⁴.

Payment type	What GePG accepts
Partial ⁴	Instalments until the billed amount is reached, within the bill's validity ⁴
Exact ⁴	Only the billed amount ⁴
Full ⁴	The billed amount or more ⁴

Uganda's payment registration number

On the URA web portal, a payer fills in the payment details and submits. URA says "the payment registration slip will be generated" and the payer should note the payment registration number on it ². The payer then pays at a bank, by mobile money or through other URA payment modes ².

A notice from Uganda's Atomic Energy Council, dated 19 April 2023, says the slip is valid for 21 days. It says registration details go to the chosen bank automatically within 5 minutes. It says mobile money can be used for payments "below 3 million" ³.

What auditors found about control numbers

Tanzania's Controller and Auditor General reported on 30 March 2026 that the billing system of Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company was not integrated with GePG. Staff had to generate control numbers manually before payments were processed ⁸.

The same report said a parking system at the Dar Rapid Transit Agency was not integrated with its billing system. The report said this limits automatic control numbers and real-time reconciliation, and "increases the risk of revenue leakage" ⁸.

Common questions

Where do I get a GePG control number?

From the bill the government body issues. The guide says to take the control number from the bill and pick a channel ¹.

How long is a URA payment registration slip valid?

A 2023 Atomic Energy Council notice says 21 days ³.

What happens if I pay the wrong amount on a GePG bill?

It depends on the bill type. Exact bills reject any other amount. Partial bills accept instalments ⁴.

What proof do I get after paying?

A GePG receipt shows the receipt number, amount, bill reference and control number ¹.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].

Sources

How government payment gateways work
What a government payment gateway does, who connects to it, which channels it accepts, national examples and what auditors found about integration.
Reconciliation of government revenue
How governments match bills, bank payments and treasury records, the PEFA timing standards for reconciliation and what audit offices found.
Tanzania: the Government Electronic Payment Gateway (GePG)
How Tanzania's GePG works: who runs it, the 2017 legal mandate, how payers use a control number, and what the Controller and Auditor General found.
Uganda: URA payment registration numbers and the e-Tax portal
How Uganda's PRN system works for taxes and non-tax revenue on the URA portal, how banks and mobile money take payment, the law and audit findings.