By Jacquiline Emodek
The Customs department has called upon the Authorized Economic (AEO) clearing agents and declarants to remain compliant to the programme’s requirements and the AEO Manual.
The call, made by the Customs Risk Management division on Thursday 27th March, is intended to improve business efficiency in the AEO programme.
During the engagement, James Malinzi as the Ag. Commissioner Customs Department, emphasized the need for the AEO clearing agents and declarants to be compliant in order to enjoy the mutual benefits of the programme.
“As AEO clearing agents, you need to provide required documents when our staff query you instead of demanding to be left to go ‘because you are an AEO’. Therefore, we need to reflect on the benefits lost when teams are running up and down to support a client that is supposed to be 95% perfect yet is not providing all documentation for the cargo,” he noted.
Malinzi underscored partnership between URA and the AEOs in revenue collection and fronted the need to devise more benefits of the programme in order to increase the accredited clients and grow voluntary compliance to payment of taxes.
“We are partners that must work together to bring in revenue for national development as well as grow confidence in the public about the clearing fraternity and the taxman. Let us create trust in the people who are working with us,” he stated.
In her remarks, the Ag. Assistant Commissioner Customs Risk Management, Catherine Muyama reminded the Customs staff, AEO clearing agents and declarants to desist from violation of the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in order to improve service delivery.
Al Hajji Jaffer, the Vice President of the AEO National Working group, stressed the need to not only improve the benefits of the programme but also ensure that they are enjoyed across the different URA departments.
“There is lack of sensitization of departments on how to treat us; staff in the field do not seem to know who AEOs are and now the non-AEOs are making fun of us. We feel that we deserve priority given what we go through on the Domestic Taxes and Customs front prior to accreditation,” he said.
Other challenges raised included; delay of issuance of exemption letters, DPC always asking for the same documents due to knowledge gaps and job insecurity, entries in the yellow lane taking 2-3 days to resolve and under staffing of DPC among others.
