Arua.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has given special clearance to South Sudan car owners fleeing from violence in their country to use them without a temporary road licence.
The tax authority usually gives temporary licences of three months to foreign-owned vehicles, renewable once after which they are required to return to the country of origin. The registration is done at entry points. However, the acting supervisor in charge of enforcement in URA offices in Arua District, Mr Labu Cherop, told Daily Monitor on Wednesday that the Commissioner General has directed the waiver until the situation in South Sudan normalises.
“Most of them are running to Uganda because we are peaceful and some of them have their families in Uganda. They are coming with vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles,” Mr Labu said.
“The vehicles are required to pay temporary road licences but the Commissioner General has directed us to allow them to stay (even) after the expiry of the 90 days because of the situation in their country,” he added.
Mr Labu said an about 1,500 vehicles had entered the country since the outbreak of the violence between forces loyal to ex-vice president Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.
The special dispensation does not, however, apply to Congolese and other foreign-registered vehicles.
Uganda Revenue Authority had been impounding the unregistered motorcycles and cars from DR Congo in order to collect the tax.
The vehicles and motorcycles have been using entry points of Oraba, Elegu, Afoji and Madi-Opei routes.
The URA has, however, warned Ugandans who own foreign-registered vehicles against doing business with them, saying they will be impounded if found doing the illegal activity.
There had been a concern from the locals about the influx of foreign registered vehicles mostly in West Nile and Arua, Koboko and Gulu towns raising security fears that some of them could be used for criminal activities.
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