By Annet Nantongo
A classic passenger bus, Reg. no. 8680AB07 was captured from Iganga revenue check point on Sunday 22 May 2022, with assorted smuggled packages of textiles and rice. URA recovered the cargo from several concealed compartments of the vehicle in the wee hours of that day leading to a prolonged search that prompted the transfer of the 20 passengers on-board to another bus to proceed to their destination. Thereafter, the bus interior was literally dissected through the passenger seats and boots as officers rummaged for concealed goods. 137 packages of garments and rice were uncovered concealed under hidden compartments in passenger seats, bag cabinets on top and the boots.
A reconciliation with the manifest from the bus team indicated that one package was declared, 22 were under declared, one had over declared weight while the remaining 113 packages were not reflected on the manifest document.
The team had to break the seals to further reconcile the manifest with what the bus was carrying. It is noted that 19 of the under declared cargo were textile rolls weighing over 974kgs while the remaining 3 under declared goods were fabrics weighing over 228kgs. For the undeclared cargo, 13 packages were imported long grain rice weighing 105kgs, while 88 of the undeclared goods were textiles weighing 459kgs. The remaining undeclared 12 packages were assorted items without weight indications.
At the onset of the budget for the financial year 2021/2022, Uganda introduced an import duty of 3.5 dollars per kilogram of cloth or 35 percent of the value of the item, whichever is higher. After consultation and complaints from traders in these goods category, Uganda’s minister of Finance, Hon Matia Kasaija revised the levy and directed that where products are manufactured locally, then 35% or USD 3 per kilogram on textiles, or USD 3.5 per kilogram on garments, whichever is higher shall apply.
Since then, URA has noted increased smuggling of textiles from numerous cheeky tactics that now involve use of passenger buses. This incident follows two passenger buses that were captured in February this year facilitating illicit trade.
The buses from SIMBA and MASH companies were apprehended from a mobile check point at Nakalama junction along the Jinja-Tororo highway where a range of assorted undeclared items were uncovered. The search then unravelled goods ranging from textiles, electrical cables, vehicle spare parts, veterinary lab equipment and reagents, and foodstuffs such as rice, ketchup and instant noodles. uncovered several undeclared items, among others.
Another group of textile smugglers were nabbed a week ago when a Fuso Fighter truck reg. no. UBH 627T was towed from Lungujja Kampala. The Nakawa enforcement team recovered 5,804 pcs of sweaters, jean trousers, dresses, jumpers, t-shirts and jackets; 10,971 SqM of polyester Lining; and 6,827 SqM of Curtain Material.
Geoffrey Balamaga, the URA Manager Enforcement Operations, notes that the implicated persons will be penalised as per the offences committed as investigations continue. He added that URA will continue unearthing a number of similar rackets to protect society against harmful products and encourage fair competition.
It is noteworthy that this financial year, URA has so far recovered over UGX 70.04 billion from 5,748 anti-smuggling operations between July 2021 and March 2022. Of these retrievals, 5,306 were from dutiable goods while 442 were non-dutiable cargo.
URA commits to fighting smuggling of all sorts and liberating Uganda from economic saboteurs engaging in illicit trade. The general public is encouraged to report to URA all suspicious trade practices in their areas to enable URA create a level trading ground for all legitimate traders.
