The Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner General, John R. Musinguzi, has called upon the Customs staff to heavily penalize persons smuggling goods into the country in order to deter the vice.
Musinguzi made the call on the 62nd Independence Day at Busia One Stop Border Post while meeting URA staff. He explained that smugglers are the bottlenecks of national development, and they should be arrested and penalized heavily.
“Smugglers are not friends of the economy; they should be penalized. Let the issues of penalties be very consistent, because any smuggler who loses a vehicle and is forfeited to the state will lose it, feel pain, and he will not stake another,” he said.
He explained that the law allows URA to forfeit motor vehicles aiding smuggling. “Where there is deliberate effort by the car owner to conceal and smuggle goods into the country, the law allows us; don’t be apologetic about it; forfeit. Let the message be clear.”
Musinguzi noted that such consistent penalties will deter people from smuggling and get into legitimate trade, thus contributing to the development of Uganda.
He called for the maximum penalty for any motor vehicle carrying smuggled goods. “Find the maximum. Who stopped you from finding $10,000 when a vehicle is carrying smuggled goods? Let’s be consistent. Don’t exercise discretion here. Use the law as it is. Maximum penalty for any vehicle carrying smuggling.”
The Commissioner General also cautioned URA staff to properly account for all the impounded goods and vehicles for transparency purposes. He noted that it is a form of corruption when goods are impounded and later released without accountability.
“Whatever you arrest, please account for it up to the last. These things of a car being arrested with cigarettes and in the next moment it is released and no one knows how it has been released, show a lack of transparency,” said Musinguzi.
He, however, appreciated the URA Customs team for the security calmness in Eastern Uganda, which is not like in the past, where fights between enforcement staff and smugglers led to some serious injuries.
Section 199(ii) of the East African Community Customs Management Act 2004 states that a master of a vehicle involved in smuggling should pay a fine not exceeding $10,000.
On the issue of corruption, he cautioned the Customs Officers against corruption that is derailing national development, noting that there are reports of collusion through undervaluation and misdeclaration that should be stopped to close revenue gaps associated with the importation of goods.
“These reports of smuggling with impunity must stop immediately,” said Musinguzi.
