Another 140 fake car plates listed
Another 140 fake number-plates were released by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) yesterday as it stepped up investigations into the scam.
By Steven Candia
Another 140 fake number-plates were released by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) yesterday as it stepped up investigations into the scam.
The tax body also said hundreds of motorcycles (boda-bodas) may also be bearing duplicate number-plates. This means that two or more cars and motorcycles are issued with the same number-plate so that the fraudsters can evade taxes.
The URA said about 140 duplicate numbers had been issued without its authority between August and February 2009. Earlier last week, the tax body released 20 fake number-plates.
The latest list of fake numbers was issued by Arnold Brooklyn, one of the companies which makes registration plates.
The URA has ordered the company to account for the irregularity. Sources said another list of over 100 vehicles, not yet made public, was also sent to the second number-plate maker, GM Tumpeco.
The companies have 30 days to account, or face suspension and legal action. “Should you fail to account for the number-plates, or pay the revenue value lost, we shall suspend operations with your company and shall consider legal redress,†Semakula Musisi, the commissioner of legal services, said in a letter.
He said the number-plates had been smuggled into the country through a racket of importers, clearing agents and the staff of the two firms. He said although the fraud had been reported to the firms, they had taken no action to stop it.
In an attempt to flush out the fraudsters, the URA last week seized 60 vehicles bearing fake numbers, arrested two of its own employees and some from Brooklyn and Tumpeco and charged them with various offences related to tax evasion. The number of vehicles impounded has risen to 400.
URA, however, has not identified the owners of the vehicles, some of them believed to be senior government and security officials as well as businesspeople.
Addressing journalists at the URA head offices in Kampala yesterday, Moses Kajubi, the commissioner of domestic taxes, said the loopholes had been plugged and that Arnold Brooklyn had accepted responsibility. “At the moment, we are in discussion with them over the matter,†he said.
Asked why the contracts of the number-plate manufacturers had not been terminated, Ali Sekatawa, the manager of VAT, said the URA did not have the power to do so since the firms were contracted by the works ministry. He also said such a move would create a vacuum in which vehicles would not be registered.
The tax body, he said, would instead implement various measures to curb the problem. For insance, he said, Arnold Brooklyn and Tumpeco had been given space in the URA motor vehicle registration unit for easy monitoring. The tax body, he said, would also prosecute offenders, sensitise the public and impound all cars with fake numbers.
During the press conference, the URA paraded a UPDF officer, Lt. Deus Katwesigye, who was arrested on Monday as a key suspect in the scam.
Godfrey Balamaga, the head of the enforcement division, said the law would catch up with the rest of the criminals. “The best they can do is only run,†he said.
Eleven people have been charged with fraudulently issuing car number-plates.
At the same conference, the URA dismissed a report by Transparency International which listed it among the five most corrupt organizations in the region.
Another 140 fake number-plates were released by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) yesterday as it stepped up investigations into the scam.
The tax body also said hundreds of motorcycles (boda-bodas) may also be bearing duplicate number-plates. This means that two or more cars and motorcycles are issued with the same number-plate so that the fraudsters can evade taxes.
The URA said about 140 duplicate numbers had been issued without its authority between August and February 2009. Earlier last week, the tax body released 20 fake number-plates.
The latest list of fake numbers was issued by Arnold Brooklyn, one of the companies which makes registration plates.
The URA has ordered the company to account for the irregularity. Sources said another list of over 100 vehicles, not yet made public, was also sent to the second number-plate maker, GM Tumpeco.
The companies have 30 days to account, or face suspension and legal action. “Should you fail to account for the number-plates, or pay the revenue value lost, we shall suspend operations with your company and shall consider legal redress,†Semakula Musisi, the commissioner of legal services, said in a letter.
He said the number-plates had been smuggled into the country through a racket of importers, clearing agents and the staff of the two firms. He said although the fraud had been reported to the firms, they had taken no action to stop it.
In an attempt to flush out the fraudsters, the URA last week seized 60 vehicles bearing fake numbers, arrested two of its own employees and some from Brooklyn and Tumpeco and charged them with various offences related to tax evasion. The number of vehicles impounded has risen to 400.
URA, however, has not identified the owners of the vehicles, some of them believed to be senior government and security officials as well as businesspeople.
Addressing journalists at the URA head offices in Kampala yesterday, Moses Kajubi, the commissioner of domestic taxes, said the loopholes had been plugged and that Arnold Brooklyn had accepted responsibility. “At the moment, we are in discussion with them over the matter,†he said.
Asked why the contracts of the number-plate manufacturers had not been terminated, Ali Sekatawa, the manager of VAT, said the URA did not have the power to do so since the firms were contracted by the works ministry. He also said such a move would create a vacuum in which vehicles would not be registered.
The tax body, he said, would instead implement various measures to curb the problem. For insance, he said, Arnold Brooklyn and Tumpeco had been given space in the URA motor vehicle registration unit for easy monitoring. The tax body, he said, would also prosecute offenders, sensitise the public and impound all cars with fake numbers.
During the press conference, the URA paraded a UPDF officer, Lt. Deus Katwesigye, who was arrested on Monday as a key suspect in the scam.
Godfrey Balamaga, the head of the enforcement division, said the law would catch up with the rest of the criminals. “The best they can do is only run,†he said.
Eleven people have been charged with fraudulently issuing car number-plates.
At the same conference, the URA dismissed a report by Transparency International which listed it among the five most corrupt organizations in the region.