By Immaculate Wanyenze
It is that time of the year on Uganda’s social calendar when there is the ba-summer (Ugandans working abroad) invasion. They are known for causing “inflation” in town because of too much spend on expensive drinks and food. Their expenditure also spreads to driving around Luxurious cars.
In most cases the cars they drive have foreign registered plates because URA has issued them a Temporary Road License (TRL).
A TRL is a document usually given to foreigners intending to come into Uganda with their foreign registered vehicles or Ugandans working abroad with valid work permits. These in most cases come from Sudan and Congo. With the TRL, a person is granted a maximum of 90 days and once they elapse, they are supposed to return to their countries.
However, this is not the case. Some foreigners and the ba-summer violate the TRLs. They choose to stay and test their luck with expired TRLs which is an offense.
“If you have been granted a TRL you are not supposed to lend out your car or sell it to anyone here[Uganda] without permission. If you want to sell it, you have to notify the Commissioner Customs,” Godson Mwesigye, the Manager Enforcement operations said of the TRL violations.
With URA ’s continued vigilance, a number of culprits have been netted and had their cars impounded. The latest is a Mercedes benz GLE350d that was impounded in Adjumani.
According to Elvis Kairanga, a customs enforcement officer in Elegu, the benz had plates belonging to a Toyota.
“This means it had paid taxes in South Sudan and crossed over to Uganda with un paid taxes. In order to avoid taxes, the owner was “clever” enough to change the plates belonging to a different car,” Kairanga explained.
The impounded benz is currently parked at the URA offices in Elegu pending offence procedure. The penalty includes a fine of taxes amounting to USD 20,000(UGX 76,000,000).
Kairanga also revealed that the offence on violation of the TRLs starts by identifying the crime before one is penalized. Those who fail to fulfil their penalties, their cars get auctioned in the long run.
Ibrahim Bbossa, the URA Spokesperson noted that URA is expected to collect more revenue this financial year so continuous driving of non-authorized vehicles on the road affects the taxes URA collects for improved service delivery.
He also added that URA is committed to cracking the vice to ensure that every Ugandan pays their fair share of revenue.
Currently, a number of field operations are ongoing to net more culprits.
