By Florence Namuganza & Niyonshima Joshua
URA has stepped up its fight against illicit trade through acquisition of a mobile cigarette destruction machine that will be used to destroy illegal cigarettes seized by the authority ’s customs enforcement team.
The Hammermill is a donation from the British American Tobacco (BAT) to provide a convenient, effective and cost-efficient means of destroying illicit cigarettes smuggled into the country.
Speaking at the handover ceremony today, Geoffrey Okaka, the Ag. Commissioner for Customs explained that the Hammermill is a cost saving initiative for destroying intercepted cigarettes. He revealed that URA spends lots of money on storage and the destruction exercise. For example, in March during the destruction of cigarettes in Nakasongala, URA spent more than UGX 100 million.
“It is in our interest to support legitimate trade and ensure the market is reserved for only legitimate products in order to effectively collect tax,” Okaka said.
On the other hand, the Managing Director BAT Uganda, Mathu Kiunjuri noted thatillicit trade is still serious issue that the tobacco industry is grappling with and can only be wiped out with combined efforts.
“This year’s illicit cigarette trade incidence of 27.5% is a spike from 23.8% in 2021 which was an increase of 54.5% compared to September 2020,” he added.
Thadeus Nagenda, the Ag. Chairperson KACITA appealed to the business community to always cooperate with taxman and avoid their participation in illicit activities; adding that the association will only support taxpayers willing to comply.
“To my fellow traders, do not try smuggling because URA will get you. When you come to the association, we may not help much because you will have lost,” Nagenda warned.
Meanwhile, the Tobacco Control Act of 2015 empowers URA to destroy illicit cigarettes which finds its way into the country through ungazetted routes. Reports from URA also indicate that Super Match is the most smuggled brand in Uganda followed by high-end varieties like Oris and Dunhill. These are mostly intercepted in Karuma, Fort Portal and Kampala.
In March 2022 alone, 61 million sticks of assorted cigarette brands where destroyed by URA and 14 million more sticks await destruction.
