Malaba. Clearing and Forwarding businesses at Malaba boarder came to a standstill last week after Malaba Town Council authorities closed offices of several firms over failure to pay for their trading licenses.
The Malaba town clerk, Mr Francis Orono, told Daily Monitor that they took the decision after noticing that the firms had flouted for nearly three years.
“We have the mandate to impose licensing fees on any person or organisation expressing interest to conduct business within our area, but in this case majority of the clearing firms have failed to adhere,” Mr Orono said.
He said out of 100 clearing and forwarding firms operating in Malaba, only a half have cleared their arrears while the remaining ones have outstanding arrears of more than three years.
“This cannot be accepted because trading license is one of our major sources of revenue. It draws more than Shs30 million annually,” Mr Orono said.
He added that despite numerous notices issued by the council, the firms under their association Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association [UCIFA], have not been cooperative.
“They think they are only supposed to pay operation license to Uganda Revenue Authority and not trading license to any other authority. They think this is tantamount to double taxation, which is very wrong,” said Mr Orono.
However, the chairperson of Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association, Mr Yovan Manghara, said they will effect payment after consulting with the Ministry of Local Government.
‘’We shall seek an interpretation from our lawyers before we proceed to adhere to the council directive or else we will seek a court injunction,’’ Mr Manghara said.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
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