Prime
Closure of Coin bond almost complete, URA says
URA says that the process to remove all motor vehicles out of Coin, due to a land wrangle, is almost complete. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- URA says there were only 60 vehicles that had not been removed out of Coin at the start of this week
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) had said it has almost completed the process of closing the Coin motor vehicle bond in Nakawa, Kampala.
URA, on April 13 directed motor vehicle importers and owners to remove any unit that had been unsold at the time within 10 days.
However, the 10-day ultimatum elapsed on Sunday April 23, yet the bond still holds a number of motor vehicle units.
Yesterday, Mr Ibrahim Bbosa, the URA assistant commissioners for corporate and public affairs, told Monitor that majority of the motor vehicles had been removed, save for about 60 trucks that were still bonded at Coin at the start of this week.
“Coin [motor vehicle] bond is in the process of closing and taking out units through a process called bond-to-bond where units are registered ... from the originating bond to the bond of the client’s choice,” he said, noting that there were only 60 motor vehicle units left in Coin at the start of this week.
However, Mr Bbosa had by press time not replied to our inquiry relating to when URA expects all motor vehicles to have been removed given that it is almost a week since the notice was issued on April 13.
But sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorised to speak on behalf of URA, said URA, even as it had provisioned for only 10 days, had requested for 60 days from the landlord, within which it expects all vehicles and any other business to have been removed.
Coin is one of the largest bond for used motor vehicles, along Jinja Road in Nakawa.
Initially, Mr Bbosa said, Coin had been on a consolidated three acres of land that could comfortably accommodate more than 680 motor vehicle units, among them trucks, saloon cars and station wagons.
However, following a court order, the land was surveyed, in which it was established that the bond was left on only 0.520 hectares, which could accommodate about 250 trucks.
Asked if Coin had any other tenant under a sub-lease arrangement, Mr Bbosa said, URA was not aware of any, given that when licensing a bonded warehouse, URA does not consider sub-leases.
In a notice issued early this month, URA indicated that it had taken a decision to close Coin motor vehicle bond, noting that was no longer sustainable to have a bond whose existence was not guaranteed.
URA also indicated that it had give importers and vehicle owners an allowance of 10 days to enable them move their vehicles to other bonds, while at the same time allow bond owners to collect their demurrage from vehicles that had been bonded there.
People close to the matter indicate that Coin has been having a land wrangle with its landlord for more than 28 years.
Hwang Sung vs Coin
It was not readily clear whether the wrangle is related to the one in 2000, in which Hwang Sung was forced to withdrew from Coin, after court stopped it from occupying the disputed bonded warehouse, which had been allocated to Hwang Sung by the KCC, now KCCA on claims that the owners had failed to utilise it ever since it was leased out.
