URA impounds 400 foreign-registered motorcycles

At least 400 foreign-registered motorcycles have been impounded by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in four districts of Busia, Namayingo, Namisindwa and Tororo, during an operation that started two weeks ago.

 Mr Duncan Kakonge, the URA manager for Eastern region, on Thursday said their operation is aimed at ensuring compliance in tax remittances and ownership.

 “These Kenyan motorcycles are owned by Ugandans and are being ridden within the country; the motorcycles should have Ugandan registration and that is why we launched the operation,” he said.

Mr Kakonge said buying motorcycles from Kenya is ‘hurting the economy’ in terms of employment and revenue collections, and that it was time border residents realised their duty in ensuring compliance and contribution towards economic development of the country.

It’s estimated that along the Eastern border alone, stretching from Namayingo, Busia, Tororo, Namisindwa to  Amudat, there are more than 6,000 Kenyan-registered motorcycles.
 The tax body says on average, the country has lost more than Shs7.2b in taxes over noncompliance.

Mr Bashir Nazige, one of the boda boda leaders in Busia Town, told Saturday Monitor that close to 400 motorcycles have been impounded, leaving several riders without work and income.

In Namayingo District, several motorcycle riders, who own Kenyan-registered motorcycles, have gone into  hiding  to evade the impounding.

Mr James Bwire, a boda boda rider, revealed he is now sleeping in the bush with his motorcycle.

“The (URA) officers are ruthless; they have been moving to our homes and impounding our motorcycles, forcing us to seek refuge in the bush,” he said.

Early last year, URA warned riders and owners of foreign-registered motorcycles to pay taxes and have their number plates changed to local registration or risk having them impounded.

About 90 per cent of the motorcycles owned in Busia, Namayingo, Tororo and Namisindwa are bought from Kenya and bear Kenyan registration plates.

Mr Francis Ojambo, a boda boda rider in Busia Town, said many riders buy  motorcycles from the Kenyan market because they are  relatively cheaper  compared with those sold in Uganda.

“In Kenya, we buy a motorcycle at about Shs3.7m, while the same brand of a motorcycle sold over Shs4.7m in Uganda,” he said.

Mr Fred Chuki, a rider from Namayingo Town, described the operation as ‘untimely’, arguing that during the Covid-19 induced lockdown, they had been restricted from working and hardly made any income.

Mr Chuki wonders why URA decided to  launch an operation to impound all foreign motorcycles and demand Shs1.2m as registration fees and Shs300,000 as fines.

But Mr Kakonge, however, said the taxes ranged from between Shs700,000 and Shs1.2m,  depending on model and year of manufacture of the motorcycle.

He added that all money collected by URA is receipted, urging whoever is aggrieved to file complaints against individual officers so that they can be investigated.

Mr Kakonge further revealed that they have halted the operation until May to allow the owners of the foreign-registered motorcycles to make voluntary disclosure.

He said the authority will also use this period to sensitise riders in the border communities.
   
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