Members of Parliament have demanded that Government defers the ban on importation of vehicles older than 15 years from date of manufacture.
The ban came into effect on the 1st July 2018 after Parliament in May passed the Traffic and Road Safety (Amendment) Bill 2018.
The issue has been raised by the Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko during the plenary sitting chaired by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya.
Nesreko has asked has asked the ministry of Finance to prevail over the Uganda Revenue Authority to extend the date since over 5500 cars enroute to Uganda are affected and the sector will suffer enormous losses.
MP Nsereko said; “As Members of Parliament we urge govt to give the car importers some time to clear the cars that are more than 15 years old that are already in the bonds and in transit.”
Finance State Minister, Hon Bahati David requested that the ministry is given time to assess the situation and see if there is a possibility of extension ‘for at least a month’.
Recent surveys have named Kampala, as one of the most-polluted cities in Africa.
But car importers warn banning old vehicles will lead to job losses and make it harder for poorer Ugandans to afford a car.
A new car, which is often expensive, incurs taxes of more than 50%
The initial government proposal to effect the ban on eight year old vehicles elicited bipartisan, passionate opposition.
The Act extended the age of cars exempted from environmental levy to eight years from the original five years.
The environmental levy tax burden now shifts to older cars.
From five to 15 years, the levy now becomes 50 per cent of the value of the vehicle.
The act exempts heavy vehicles such as breakdown lorries, crane lorries, road sweeper lorries, fire fighting vehicles, concrete mixer lorries, spraying lorries, mobile workshops and forklifts.
Armored vehicles, agricultural and forestry tractors are also exempted from the ban.
Last year, Ugandans imported an average of 2,500 used cars per month.
Neighbouring Kenya stopped the importation of vehicles older than eight years old earlier this year.
