Ugandans mainly drive old/used imported cars
The proposal by government to ban importation of motor vehicles of nine years and above has been rejected by a section of MPs.
The proposal is under the traffic and road safety amendment bill of 2022 which is before parliament for consideration.
Lawmakers contend that the proposal is going to make motor vehicles too expensive for Ugandans to afford.
Last week, government tabled nine tax bills before parliament for consideration before passing the 2022/2023 financial year budget.
Among other things, the government has proposed amendments in the Traffic and Roads Safety Act, to effectively ban the importation of vehicles that are nine years old and above.
This amendment which intends to minimize road accidents associated to importation of old cars and protect environment from air pollution has faced resistance from members of parliament who contend that it’s going to make vehicles more expensive for Ugandans to afford.
However, Bukanga North County MP, Nathan Byanyima is concerned with the speed at which government moves to ban old vehicles in disregard of the economic potential of its citizens.
MPs have instead asked government to invest in revenue mobilization strategies to address gaps through which government has been losing revenue. MPs say Government should address issues of like understaffing, corruption, lack of technology and capacity among others.
Mityana North MP, Mohammed Nsengumire Kibedi says that he will reject the proposal and advised government to rather step-up motor vehicle inspection to weed out cars in Dangerous Mechanical Conditions from the roads.
In 2018, government banned cars older than fifteen years from being shipped into the country, following the enactment of the Traffic and Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2018.
If the proposed amendment succeeds, importation of motor vehicles manufactured before July 2013 will be banned. It will also the extended age of cars exempted from environmental levy to eight years from the original five years.
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has already informed Ugandans that Effective July 1st, 2022, motor vehicles nine years old or more from the date of manufacture, will not be warehoused.
According to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), importers of these vehicles will have to undergo Customs clearance and pay taxes due, at the port of entry into the East African Community before the vehicles are allowed into Uganda.
The new URA administrative measure will phase out the previous norm, which allowed for the warehousing of motor vehicles for a period of up to nine months. It is aimed at saving government revenue held by delayed warehousing of such motor vehicles.
