CUSTOMS LAWS AND CLEARANCE PROCEDURES Presented by : Kisitu Asadu - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CUSTOMS LAWS AND CLEARANCE PROCEDURES Presented by : Kisitu Asadu Kigozi

CLEARANCE OF CONSOLIDATED CARGO IN UGANDA New Administrative guidelines

Objective of the study:  By the end of this session the participant should able;  to explain the new administrative guidelines to clear consolidated cargo into Uganda by the start of the new financial year 2019-2020 CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 3

Lesson Content  Definitions of key concepts/words  Background  Legal framework  The targeted stakeholders  The new administrative guidelines  Implementation timelines CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 4

DEFINITIONS  Customs Laws: control the import and export of goods into and out of Uganda and the duties (or import taxes) paid on such goods. The Uganda Revenue Authority is the regulatory agency primarily tasked with overseeing Ugandan customs laws . CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 5

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  Customs Regulations: Each country has its own laws and regulations for the import and export of goods into and out of a country, which its customs authority enforces. The import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden for example. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 6

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  Guidelines issued by the Commissioner Customs form part and parcel of the legal regulatory framework for the administration of imports and exports. In Uganda we use the East African Community Customs Management Act and Regulations and all acts passed by Parliament of Uganda that refer to discipline. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 7

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  Customs: the official department that administers and collects the duties levied by a government on imported and exported goods. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 8

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  Consolidated cargo: containerized or unitized cargo comprising of several small individual shipments owned by different importers sent under one master air bill or master bill of lading with or without house airway bill or house of lading CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 9

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  An air waybill (AWB): is a document that accompanies goods shipped by an international air courier to provide detailed information about the shipment and allow it to be tracked.  A house airway bill issued by a freight forwarder on receipt of goods from shipper agreeing to deliver goods at destination. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 10

DEFINTIONS CONINUED  A bill of lading (BOL): a detailed list of a ship's cargo in the form of a receipt given by the master of the ship to the person consigning the goods.  A House Bill of Lading (HBL) is a document created by an Ocean Transport Intermediary (OTI) such as a freight forwarder or non-vessel operating company (NVOCC). The document is an acknowledgment of the receipt of goods that are to be shipped. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 11

BACKGROUND  Uganda Customs faces challenges related to importation and clearance of consolidated cargo. Small traders have suffered unnecessary delays increased cost of doing business and loss of cargo at the hands of dishonest players in logistics and supply chain. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 12

BACKGROUND CONTINUED  Government has also lost revenue and the tax agency its reputation.  Thus the need for new guidelines to regulate this category of cargo as provided for under Section 247 of the East African Community Customs Management Act. CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 13

LEGAL FRAMEWORK  Section 247 of the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA,2004 as amended) mandates the Commissioner Customs to issue guidelines to regulate customs business in Uganda (Refer to hand out 1) CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 14

TARGETTED STAKEHOLDES  Importers  Freight Forwarders  Customs Agents/ Brokers  Shippers  Consolidators CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 15

NEW ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES 12 New Administrative Guidelines  All cargo received by consolidators in country of export must have the following details:  Full address of the owner  Telephone contacts  E-mail contacts  Home physical address  All accompanying documents must in translated in English CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 16

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES CONT’D  Formal loading instructions must be given to consolidators by the owner of the goods  Shippers are required to give information of destination port to the owner of the goods  Aggregation of shipping, handling charges and Customs duties is prohibited. Consolidators must stop billing importers money for taxes CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 17

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES CONT’D  All consolidated cargo must have a detailed commercial invoice and packing list as per set standards (Refer to handout 2)  Customs declaration at the port of destination/offloading should be in unit measure  Consolidated cargo shall only be cleared in designated customs areas CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 18

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES CONT’D  All consolidated cargo shall only be declared in the owner’s names using house bill of lading or airway bill or consolidating company using a master bill of lading or airway bill.  In case of an offence, the cargo of the consignee involved shall be the only one affected  No consolidation of cargo destined to different countries shall be allowed CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 19

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES CONT’D  Consolidators shall file a monthly report of all consignments handled to the Commissioner Customs by the 5 th of the following month CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 20

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINES  The effective date of implementation of the new administrative guidelines April 19,2019 CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 21

Q &A QUESTIONS akisitu@ura.go.ug CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 22

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS  Recommendations  Further information-URA Web portal on Customs Page  Contact any Customs office for further information  Conclusion The logistics and supply chain management keeps evolving thus government regulations have to change to keep pace CONSOLIDATED CARGO 5/15/2019 GUIDELINES 23

THANK YOU and.. GOD bless!