Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has listed a number of products which will be cleared to suit the directives of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni which he issued in an attempt to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
The infection which could bring the whole planet to its knees has been reported in Uganda for two weeks now and number of positive cases continue soaring.
Currently Uganda has registered 44 cases.
This has prompted the President to order a lockdown across the country to mitigate further spread.
Whereas URA had been to asked stay operational, the acting commissioner customs Abel Kagumire issued guidelines on how the authority will handle clearance of cargo.
Below is full statement
Further to the previous guidelines issued by Customs on clearance of goods dated 23rd March 2020 and the most recent directives by H.E. The President issued on 30th March 2020; more specifically limiting interactions to five persons and at a distance of four meters, and restricting movement of private vehicles; the following are additional cargo clearance guidelines for the period of 14 days starting 1st April 2020.
A: Customs will facilitate the clearance of the following essential goods:
- Medical, relief items and other sanitary or health supplies sanctioned by government.
- Food and related essential supplies.
- Machinery, machinery spare-parts and raw materials for established manufacturers.
- Agriculture products and inputs.
Note: Any other goods other than mentioned above shall be entered for warehousing and the subject goods remain in the container.
B: For purposes of clearing the above categories of goods /cargo the following process will be used.
- An entry should be captured (1M4 of Ex4/8) followed by the payment of the assessed taxes.
- The system risk management process (Selectivity) will be undertaken and a notification of the lane made to the declarant.
- For transactions selected RED, the declarant will be required to notify their readiness through the ‘Helptool Request for Verification’ where the rest of the process will be guided by Customs.
- The rest of the Customs Processes shall proceed until Release from the Customs Document Processing Center
In circumstances where any particular declarant needs to be facilitated to access the bonded warehouses, Customs shall guide on how that will be done.
However, there will be no general permission for any of the declarants to access Customs facilities. All our services shall remain accessible through the online platforms including the Customs Systems and the Customs Helptool.
Bonded Warehouse Operators are advised to ensure that the essential staff in cargo handling and clearance, camp or reside either within the warehouse premises or within walkable distance to the bonded warehouse.
For further details on operationalization of the warehouses and the clearance of goods as advised above, please contact the managers warehousing telephone No. 0323443331 and the office of the Assistant Commissioner –Field Services telephone No.0323442169.
