The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has not only discovered a route used by individuals who smuggle mobile devices into Uganda, but it has also impounded a number of mobile devices to the value of UGX 34 Million.
According to The Monitor, the smugglers were using the route near the Uganda and Rwanda border in order to ferry in mobile devices from Rwanda.
Sarah Banage, spokesperson for the URA, has stated that: “The Uganda-Rwanda border has not been known as a smuggling route for mobile devices until recently when our enforcement team followed up a recent tip off.”
Banage also stated that Rwanda charges lower taxes on mobile phones than Uganda According to Banage, this means their mobile devices are cheaper than those in Uganda.
Banage also revealed that due to the porousness of Uganda-Rwanda border, smugglers bring electronic gadgets – including mobile phones in bulk – into their homes in the districts of Ntungamo and Isingiro. They then transport the devices to the market in order to avoid detection.
Uganda’s tax collectors have been concentrating their surveillance on Kenya and Tanzania borders like Mutukula, Busia and Malaba…. where smuggling has increased. A smuggler, once caught, is expected to pay taxes for the smuggled goods in addition to a fine slapped on the vehicle being using – according to The Monitor.
Darryl Linington
