Public Announcement; Commissioner Customs Abel Clarifies on the Customs Clearing Processes.

Описание: There has been a video going on social media of someone claiming that we are holding his containers here at URA Nakawa for 117 days.
When we saw that video, we tried to cross check because it was outrageous for us.
We checked our systems and procedures we don’t have these containers held anywhere.

When we looked at our processes since all of them are automated, we found that there was no container held apart from those held legally in the bonded ware houses where they are supposed to stay for a maximum period of six month.

Customs procedures at URA have been streamlined. In the first place they are all automated, so they can be verified, they can be audited and they are very transparent.

If you import your goods they come through the port of Mombasa or the port of Dar-es- Salaam. When they reach Mombasa or Dar-es-Salam, there is what we call manifesting. So we pick your goods from the manifest and we capture two regimes. Either you are taking them to a bonded warehouse to store them or you are paying taxes at the port.
When you pay taxes at the port we release you.

The best we can do is to do a cargo tracking and we track your cargo up to the border. That one depends on the transportation, again it is on your side to transport your goods. Transporting your goods takes either two days or one and half days from Mombasa to reach our nearest borders Malaba or Busia.

At Malaba and Busia we have what we call pave yes or pave no. Pave yes means we have suspicion in this consignment, we did not verify it at the port of Mombasa and we wanted to check it and those are about 5 to 10% of the cargo that is released from the port .

So that is what stays at the border and they do verification. If there are no issues with that we release it and it goes to your premises whether Kikubo or where you want to sell at your shop.
If the other one is pave no, you just pass through the border normal checks, scanner scans you and you continue to your premises because you have paid your taxes.

And our process for declaration everywhere starts with that clearing agent whom we have licensed. These clearing agents have clear performance indicators on when they should declare especially when the client has paid his taxes.
So, when we checked our systems we didn’t see anything that has delayed, assessed and not paid because the maximum is within 14 days. We have not checked the one of 117 days.
We think our processes are okay, they can be verified, when you don’t want to pay taxes at the port and you don’t have the money to pay, we allow to bring the goods to the bonded warehouse. Again, when you bring the goods you don’t stop at the border, you just go through the one stop, and the scanner which is a walk through and you come to the bonded warehouse of your choice whether in Nakawa or wherever.
And in that bonded warehouse you are free to stay for a maximum period of six months that is the law and it is your choice. Our interest is that you can stay there for a short period of time because the more you stay there the more you are delaying revenue.
We try to encourage People to clear out of the bonded ware house as quickly so that we get this revenue out. But the law allows you to be there as you look for revenue to pay the taxes.
Still when you get the taxes to pay, the process of clearing out of the bonded ware house is the one which is done within 48hrs maximum. You should have got out of our system after you have paid your taxes in the bank.

So, I am still wondering where the delay would come from and why we would be holding your containers. That is why I request the client could come and give the specifics of the two containers and where they are held because we have tracked and traced, we don’t have them.

Uganda Revenue Authority, Developing Uganda Together.
Commissioner Customs Abel Kagumire.
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