By CHIMPREPORTS
In a bid to curb the dumping of goods and revenue loss resulting from smuggling, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioner General John Musinguzi met with his South Sudanese counterpart, Africano Mande Gedima of the South Sudan Revenue Authority. The meeting, held at the URA headquarters in Nakawa, discussed South Sudan’s plans to implement a new cargo monitoring system.
During the meeting, Mande announced a collaboration between SSRA and the Uganda-based company Invesco (Uganda) Ltd. This partnership aims to provide real-time valuation of goods from the point of origin to the destination, addressing low customs collections.
“Collections from Customs have been low, pushing us to make tough decisions to improve. INVESCO services will help us to improve collections and even exceed our targets,” said Mande. He expressed the hope to learn from URA’s experience with cargo tracking systems and sought URA’s support in implementing the cargo tracking initiative.
URA Commissioner welcomed SSRA’s move, stating that it would significantly contribute to controlling the dumping of goods.
The collaboration with INVESCO comes as a response to South Sudan missing out on millions of dollars due to underestimations. The deal between SSRA and INVESCO is designed to provide real-time goods valuation, ensuring that the documentation issued to an importer/trader at the source remains unchanged upon arrival in South Sudan.
Under the agreement, importers will be required to acquire a certificate of importation from INVESCO, and a minimal fee will be charged for this. Without the certificate, importers will not be allowed to travel to South Sudan.
Previously, SSRA had relied on a company, K-Polygone, for cargo tracking technology. However, this arrangement was terminated due to compliance issues. INVESCO, already working with the Democratic Republic of Congo, has significantly contributed to increased local tax revenue in the DRC.
Julius Nkwasire Mponooka, the Assistant Commissioner of Intelligence, highlighted INVESCO’s value in curbing smuggling and dumping of goods. He explained that INVESCO helps ascertain the presence of taxpayers in other countries, aiding in monitoring and enforcement efforts.
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