Ubumuntu
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By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI (email the author)
Posted Saturday, April 7 2012 at 13:08
East Africa will have a Single Customs' Territory by the end of this month after recommendations from a study on the need to have a single Customs territory were concluded and sent to the sectoral council for implementation. According to the recommendations, Customs revenue collection by member states will remain decentralised and revenue will be collected by individual member state at the point of destination of the goods.
Although Kenya and Tanzania were for the centralised method of revenue collection, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi are said to have favoured the old decentralised method and the latter has been adopted. "In this case member states will only agree on a common platform of sharing the collected revenue," said Kenya's East African Community director for Economic Affairs Richard Sindiga. This according to Mr Sindiga, will ease and reduce the costs of doing business in the region since the lack of harmonised EAC trade regimes in the region has been a challenge to the EAC Customs Management Act.
"Partner states have different trade and investment laws that contradict the EAC Customs Management Act and the Customs Protocol which has made the implementation of the Customs regime problematic in certain areas with regards to exemptions and waiver of tariff regimes," said Mr Sindiga. East African Legislative assembly Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges report had earlier pointed out that EAC Customs Management Act 2004 passed by partner states was not being implemented due to lack of a single Customs' administrative and regulatory authority by partner states. There is therefore no control on the goods which cross borders in terms of their origin, revenue collection as well as administering trade policies.
EAC closer to implementing Single Customs Territory *- News*|theeastafrican.co.ke
Posted Saturday, April 7 2012 at 13:08
East Africa will have a Single Customs' Territory by the end of this month after recommendations from a study on the need to have a single Customs territory were concluded and sent to the sectoral council for implementation. According to the recommendations, Customs revenue collection by member states will remain decentralised and revenue will be collected by individual member state at the point of destination of the goods.
Although Kenya and Tanzania were for the centralised method of revenue collection, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi are said to have favoured the old decentralised method and the latter has been adopted. "In this case member states will only agree on a common platform of sharing the collected revenue," said Kenya's East African Community director for Economic Affairs Richard Sindiga. This according to Mr Sindiga, will ease and reduce the costs of doing business in the region since the lack of harmonised EAC trade regimes in the region has been a challenge to the EAC Customs Management Act.
"Partner states have different trade and investment laws that contradict the EAC Customs Management Act and the Customs Protocol which has made the implementation of the Customs regime problematic in certain areas with regards to exemptions and waiver of tariff regimes," said Mr Sindiga. East African Legislative assembly Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges report had earlier pointed out that EAC Customs Management Act 2004 passed by partner states was not being implemented due to lack of a single Customs' administrative and regulatory authority by partner states. There is therefore no control on the goods which cross borders in terms of their origin, revenue collection as well as administering trade policies.
EAC closer to implementing Single Customs Territory *- News*|theeastafrican.co.ke
