Following the increased smuggling of mobile phones especially through the Eastern part of the country and an outcry from authorized distributors of phones like; Tecno, Itel and Infinix, a focused operation was organized in Mbale last month to check on the compliance levels as regards their importation and local distribution.
The operation was led by the Regional Intelligence Liaison Officer (RILO), Eastern region and other intelligence teams from Malaba and Lwakhakha.
According to Luke Kivumbi, a customs officer in the region, the operation focused on distributors of phones in Mbale.
“We checked their compliance to tax in both Customs and Domestic taxes. In customs, we asked for the right importation documents and their compliance to Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) under Domestic taxes,” Kivumbi said.
Although most distributors had most of the documentation, some did not and these had their gadgets seized. By the end of the operation, 300 mobile phones were taken and offence management is currently ongoing at the URA Mbale office.
