EAST African Business Council (EABC) is an important platform in deepening East African Community (EAC) integration through learning and sharing best practices from other regional economic communities.
This was said by Chief Secretary (CS),
Ambassador John Kijazi, during the courtesy visit by members of the EABC
on his office in Dar es Salaam on Monday. Ambassador Kijazi pledged to
forward EABC concerns to President John Magufuli and to other levels of
the government for action.
Liberalisation of service sector,
harmonisation of taxes, freer movement of workers and local content were
among other burning issues brought to the attention of the CS in a bid
to advance the EAC integration Agenda.
The EABC vice-Chair, Uganda, Mr Kassim
Omar, appreciated the government efforts to improve efficiency at Dar
port but asked for removal of VAT on ancillary services rendered to
transit goods.
“Indeed, the Dar es Salaam port has
improved,” he said, mentioning the ancillary services rendered to
transit goods such as stevedoring, lashing and securing, cargo
inspection, preparation of customs documentation, container handling and
storage of transported goods to be transported.
He said though VAT is levied on
companies based in Tanzania, the tax is finally transferred to owner of
the transit goods who are later supposed to pay VAT in destination
country on arrival of goods.
He urged the government to harmonise the
preferential treatments it offers to transit goods services to
encourage use of central corridor exemplifying, while Rwandese transit
trucks pay 150 US dollars. Other EAC countries pay 500 US dollars. On
his part, the EABC vicechairman Tanzania, Mr Felix Mosha, said that
affordable movement within the region can enrich the EAC Integration.
“There is need for common understanding
on air transport in terms of how to liberalise air transport and
domesticating the EAC air space,” noting that regional air tickets cost
are significantly higher than international ones.
EABC Chairman, Mr Audace Ndayizeye,
commended the EAC Heads of Summit under President Magufuli for the
remarkable progress towards the realisation of the regional integration
process, noting landmarks such as reduction of road blocks along the
Central Corridor, reduction of work permits fees and signing of the East
African Community (EAC) Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade
Bill (2015), among others
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