URA now takes over issuing of Certificates of Origin for exports

Kampala. Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has taken over the issuing of Certificates of Origin to Ugandan exporters in order to do away with the bureaucracy that was delaying exportation of goods. The role was initially being played by the Uganda Exports Promotion Board (UEPB).
In international trade, a Certificate of Origin is a document that confirms that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country.
“A directive issued by the Ministry of Finance decided that the role of issuance of these certificates moves to URA in order to facilitate exporters. There have been delays under the previous arrangement and this affects doing business,” URA commissioner customs Dicksons Kateshumbwa told exporters recently in Kampala.

Uganda is signed up to several multilateral trade agreements where it can benefit from preferential treatment. Ugandan manufactured goods get preferential treatment within the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and European Union due to agreements signed. Uganda’s largest export trading bloc is the EAC, followed by South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“At URA, we have been processing payments for exporters and clearing them within hours. Some of these products are perishables and as customs officials, issuing the certificate at the same place makes that process much faster,” Mr Kateshumbwa added.