URA burns contraband cigarettes
Jul 26, 2005
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has burnt contraband cigarettes worth sh240m in Jinja.
By Esther Mukyala
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has burnt contraband cigarettes worth sh240m in Jinja.
The 437 cartons of mainly Supermatch cigarettes, were impounded by the Special Revenue Protection Service (SRPS) between the 2003/2004 and 2004/5 financial years.
Enock Walugembe, the assistant commissioner in charge of enforcement, told journalists at the Bank of Uganda Jinja currency centre on Friday that 99.6% of the cigarettes was Supermatch smuggled from Kenya, while other brands like Stella, Mpala, Sportsman, Sweet Menthol, Boss and Marlboro, were from the DR Congo and Kenya.
He said URA was committed to fighting illicit trade.
He appealed to smugglers to stop the business and warned the public against buying cigarettes that do not have tax stamps. Most of the packets of cigarettes burnt in an incinerator at Kirinya prison did not have tax stamps.
Walugembe asked the public to cooperate with URA by giving it reliable information that would lead to a successful war against the vice.
Lt. Bahoku Barigye, the SRPS spokesman, said in the period covered, about 21 vehicles were involved in ferrying contraband impounded.
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has burnt contraband cigarettes worth sh240m in Jinja.
The 437 cartons of mainly Supermatch cigarettes, were impounded by the Special Revenue Protection Service (SRPS) between the 2003/2004 and 2004/5 financial years.
Enock Walugembe, the assistant commissioner in charge of enforcement, told journalists at the Bank of Uganda Jinja currency centre on Friday that 99.6% of the cigarettes was Supermatch smuggled from Kenya, while other brands like Stella, Mpala, Sportsman, Sweet Menthol, Boss and Marlboro, were from the DR Congo and Kenya.
He said URA was committed to fighting illicit trade.
He appealed to smugglers to stop the business and warned the public against buying cigarettes that do not have tax stamps. Most of the packets of cigarettes burnt in an incinerator at Kirinya prison did not have tax stamps.
Walugembe asked the public to cooperate with URA by giving it reliable information that would lead to a successful war against the vice.
Lt. Bahoku Barigye, the SRPS spokesman, said in the period covered, about 21 vehicles were involved in ferrying contraband impounded.