EAC Single Customs Territory on

From left: Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda). The three countries form the Coalition of the Willing (CoW), which has been accused of leaving out Tanzania and Burundi in making key decisions that affect the East African Community. Photo/FILE

 

By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI Special Correspondent

In Summary

• Revenue authorities from the three countries have picked the two industries for a pilot phase, meaning importers can now clear their goods at the point of entry, and revenues will be collected at a single point, in this case the port of Mombasa. Revenues will then be remitted to the destination partner states.
• So far, the system has seen time taken in the clearance and transportation of fuel by Ugandan and Rwandan importers reduced by one-and-a-half days.

Fuel and clinker importers are the first beneficiaries of the EAC Single Customs Territory (SCT) launched on January 1 by Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Revenue authorities from the three countries have picked the two industries for a pilot phase, meaning importers can now clear their goods at the point of entry, and revenues will be collected at a single point, in this case the port of Mombasa. Revenues will then be remitted to the destination partner states.

Trucks, meanwhile, will be weighed only upon crossing the border.  

Nicholas Kinoti, a KRA Customs official, said the SCT is expected to be fully operational by June 30.

READ: Single Customs Territory rollout expected January 1

Once fully operational, the SCT is expected to speed up the movement of goods along the Northern Corridor to Rwanda and Uganda, and cut the cost of doing business in the three countries.

So far, the system has seen time taken in the clearance and transportation of fuel by Ugandan and Rwandan importers reduced by one-and-a-half days.

Transport costs

The cost of transporting a 20-foot container from Mombasa to Kigali is expected to drop from $383 to $193, resulting in savings of about $45 million annually, according to a study by the East African Community.

The SCT also means that all fees will be collected as a single duty, reducing the total by half.

Currently, a trader importing goods through the port of Mombasa destined for Rwanda pays at least $98 to a Kenyan Customs officer depending on the goods, and the same amount to the Ugandan Customs authorities.

If the goods are destined for Rwanda, an even higher fee of at least $146 is paid to the Rwanda Revenue Authority as transit bond.

“Business people can clear the goods in Kampala through the URA and Kigali through the RRA by using one clearing agent unlike in the past when multiple clearing agents were required,” said Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in his address to the East African Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Although Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda use different ICT automated systems to collect revenues and clear goods, the systems have been interlinked to ensure efficiency.
Kenya uses the Simba Customs software, while Uganda and Rwanda use the ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Clearance) platform.