Before you change car colour

There are drivers who dodge the official process but this will only result into causing trouble. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

If you have to beautify it through changing its colour, there is a procedure to follow but one that you could do in the comfort of your seat, online.

Last week, a group of drivers and car enthusiasts in vintage and classic cars came together to learn not just how to spray their cars but also how to do it concisely. It was a pre-event to the Uganda Vintage and Classic Auto Show, an interactive event that utilises automobiles to provide a unique experience for different social groups.

According to the chairman of the show, Dr John Nuwagaba, the event was aimed at helping participants learn how to spray their cars so that when they compete on June 30, their cars can make better impressions to the judges of the day.

But whereas you might have a car prized as vintage or classic, you cannot change its colour unless you fulfil certain procedures. Well, many drivers get away with colour change but according to experts, one has to contact Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), before they can change the colour of their motor vehicle.

Veteran motor vehicle technician and mechanic, and director of BHP Motors, Peji Farooqi, says that before he sprays a car, he always asks the owner for their log book to be sure that they are spraying the original colour or else one which has been changed and paid for under URA.

A driver can do this online or physically, in order to alter its particulars, in this case changing its colour. When you visit the URA website, the procedure to follow to do this, is outlined.

Under motor vehicle registration, a driver is asked to select applications under which they click on ‘New Form’, tick ‘colour’ under details they would want to alter on vehicle. The driver then pays and presents an inspection receipt after which their vehicle will be inspected.

He will be served with an inspection report and verification report. They will then register payment and submit. If the driver is registering online, they will receive an e-acknowledgement receipt that details names of applicant, their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), vehicle registration number, purpose of application (alteration of registered particulars, entry number and vehicle chassis number.

At this point the applicant’s detail will be forwarded to the concerned area officer for further processing. An applicant can track their status using a search code provided to them through the website.

URA will then issue the applicant with a ‘Notice for assessment’ and an assessment number after which their vehicle will be assessed and detail provided thereafter, including fees the applicant ought to pay in the bank.
Farooqi says there are drivers who dodge the official process but adds that the law could prevail anytime.

Paul Kirui, proprietor of Car Avenue, an vehicle inspecting company, observes that changing car colours is common with a particular age group of men who do it in the sense of pimping or having a unique colour on their car most especially.
One of the commonest colour or one in vogue at the moment is the matt black which is adopted by people driving sports cars, for example Subaru and Alteza cars.
The motor enthusiast adds, “Another group keen on choosing particular colours for their cars are companies which have a large fleet and need uniformity of their fleet, such as Telecom company Airtel Uganda vans. This colour alteration is done illegally by most car owners but there is a legal process to fellow through URA.”

Kirui also observes that car dealers at times change colours of cars for easy resale of a car since most cars are white, silver, grey, black in colour so they would find it difficult to sale a green or pink car.

“Doing a good paint job on a saloon car cost averagely Shs700,000 while on an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) costs Shs1.2m. This means it is quite an expensive venture to change the colour of your car. Sometimes big companies use stickers to brand their cars. However, when stickers are removed, a car requires a paint job since the stickers leave gam on the vehicle which makes the car look ugly and dirty,” he adds.

So it doesn’t matter if you saved, bought and have keys to your car. If you have to beautify it through changing its colour, there is a procedure to follow but one that you could do in the comfort of your seat, online.

The signs
According to online information on the URA website, it is stipulated that the applicant ought to pay within 21 days of receiving their application to avoid it being rejected. A payment registration number is provided when an applicant makes the payment.
“After payment to the bank, you can check the status either at nearest tax office or URA web portal on ura.go.ug. You are advised to use search code given at the bottom of your payment registration slip to track the status,” the official URA website states, in part.