URA gives car dealers 2 months to sell off 15-year-old cars

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Car dealers with cars of 15 years and above in their bonds have been given up to December 31, 2019, to sell them or they are confiscated as contraband.

In an October 28 letter to the used car dealers association chairman, Syan Sajjad Pervaiz, URA Commissioner for Customs Dickson Kateshumbwa said bonds that stay with the cars will not be licensed to operate next year.

Syan, who heads the Syan Cars Limited in Nakawa confirmed to URN that they received the letter and said they would “try their best” to sell the cars by the end of December. He said the deadline was the end of October but URA granted them a two months extension to sell the cars.

Uganda announced a ban on the importation of cars that are 14 years and more effective October 2018 for environmental reasons. However, some dealers had hundreds of cars that were either on the way or already in the bonds. The cars were allowed to get in and traders were given a year to sell them.

A year later, some still have the cars aged 15years and more in their bonds. The new directive could see car prices dip a little bit so that dealers can meet the deadline. Traders will also expect the festive season to help them sell more cars.

It is not clear how many cars aged 15 years and above are held up in bonds in Uganda.

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URA