The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has suspended the 15% surcharge for inspecting imported second-hand goods for six months.
The affected second-hand goods are used textile products, footwear and vehicles.
Under the current laws, all used imported vehicles, textiles and footwear must possess a Certificate of Road Worthiness (CRW) from their respective countries of origin. Failure to comply with this requirement results in a 15% surcharge on the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value, along with additional Destination Inspection fees.
According to UNBS Executive Director James Kasigwa, during this period of suspension, they will review the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity for Used Commodities charge after receiving many complaints.
“The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has noted the need to put in place a framework to address the challenges met in implementation of US ISO 20245:2017; Cross Border Trade of Second Hand Goods standard,” he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“As such, UNBS has waived off the 15% PVoC surcharge for all Used Goods under the General Goods Category except for those products covered under; 1) US EAS 356:2019, Textiles — Requirements for inspection and acceptance of Used Textile products (2nd Edition), 2) US EAS 386:2020, Footwear — Inspection and acceptance criteria for Used Footwear — Requirements (2nd Edition), 3) US 845:2017, Road Vehicles — Requirements for inspection and testing of Used Motor Vehicles for Roadworthiness (2nd edition) /AMD 1:2021,” he added.
Eng Kasigwa said the waiver took effect on October 28,2024 and runs up to April 27,2025. “Consequently, all consignments of used goods shall be subjected to destination inspection during this period. Please note: for used earth moving equipment and used cranes, previous registration and supporting documents shall be required to treat such a consignment as a used commodity,” he added
