{Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) on Thursday raided shops in the city’s Kikuubo shopping lane and impounded merchandise which had been smuggled into the country. }
According to URA law enforcement officer Moses Oguttu, a suspected smuggler, who is now on the run, imported the merchandise from Rwanda and evaded taxes worth about Shs30m.
“You traders can do smart business conveniently when you pay taxes. Now the owner of this consignment of more than 700 cartons of macaroni has to pay taxes plus a fine for both the goods and the truck that has been used to transport the goods,” Oguttu told Kikuubo traders during the operation.
Mr Oguttu said URA stepped up vigilance on smugglers and urged traders to pay taxes to avoid double losses.
The suspect’s agent admitted before the URA officers that they had been smuggling but this time their luck ran out. “We buy a carton of macaroni at Shs38,000 and we sell it here at Shs46,000. Considering the taxes plus transport costs, if you don’t smuggle, you cannot make a profit,” he said.
Late March, URA raided Kikuubo and seized 273 cartons, each containing 100 dozens of China-made batteries from a trader, who has in turn sued URA for alleged illegal seizure.
Early March, a truck carrying 398 bags of undeclared rice concealed under packs of salt was impounded by URA enforcement officers as it was being offloaded in Mukono Central Market.
Daily Monitor
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