By Kabahweza Kamugisha Allan
Uganda Revenue Authority has advised bond owners to weigh all consignments before physical verification to account for the weight on arrival.
Brian Ahimbisibwe, the supervisor Non-Intrusive Inspection-Central Command Monitoring Center (CCMC) at URA made this call following a recent incident where a 40-feet container was offloaded in a CEVA Logistics warehouse prior to physical verification.
Ahimbisibwe explained that the container was scanned upon arrival at the Malaba One Stop Border Post and the scanner image indicated a full container load of bedsheets and towels.
However, the quantities declared on the customs declaration in terms of square meters were too low for the container and scanner image.
The irregularity was detected by analysts, who then sent a risk alert to enforcement and warehousing management teams for action.
Upon arrival at the warehouse, the container was measured and established to contain 24,480 kg.
Trouble ensued when the agent and the owner of the goods recently appeared for verification of the cargo. The container was found half empty with 13,860 kg of cargo missing.
Subsequent reconciliation established that over 60% of the goods were removed from the container inside the bond before verification.
According to Ahimbisibwe, both CEVA Logistics and the importer, Price Index Company Ltd., were both penalized and UGX 197,626,456 million was collected in taxes and penalties.
Additionally, the case has been forwarded to revenue intelligence for further investigation.
Ahimbisibwe advises customs officers to utilize scanner images before and after verification for reconciliation purposes. He adds that NII scanners offer a comprehensive view of the cargo allowing inspectors to identify hidden compartments, contraband and undeclared or falsely declared goods that might go undetected during inspections.
“With the re-engineered NII-CCMC alerts management process, where examination findings are cross-matched with the NII scanner images, fraudulent activities are easily detected,” he emphasizes.
