City traders petition MPs over high fees
May 10, 2009
A TOTAL of 100,000 traders have petitioned Parliament protesting the high trade licence fees levied by Kampala City Council (KCC).
By Joyce Namutebi and Catherine Bekunda
A TOTAL of 100,000 traders have petitioned Parliament protesting the high trade licence fees levied by Kampala City Council (KCC).
They said the fees were not approved by any statutory instrument.
The traders, under their umbrella body, Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), presented their appeal to the area MP, Erias Lukwago, on Thursday.
They urged Parliament to review the trade instrument No. 2 of 2009.
“Whereas the petitioners are not opposed to paying trade licence fees, they are aggrieved that they have been compelled to pay a high amount of tax over and above the statutory limits, which is a violation of their economic rights,†Lukwago said.
He explained that according to the trade law, wholesale traders are supposed to pay sh100,000 for grade one and sh60,000 for grade two.
He added that retail traders should pay sh35,000 and sh20,000 for grades one and two respectively.
“However, by end of the year, KCC had been charging varying amounts of trade licence fees ranging between sh360,000 and sh950,000 for various categories of wholesale trade and sh200,000 for retail trade,†Lukwago said.
He urged Parliament to intervene in the matter, saying the traders were at the brink of closing their businesses.
The Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, directed the committee on trade to expeditiously handle the matter and report back to Parliament before the House is adjourned.
A TOTAL of 100,000 traders have petitioned Parliament protesting the high trade licence fees levied by Kampala City Council (KCC).
They said the fees were not approved by any statutory instrument.
The traders, under their umbrella body, Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), presented their appeal to the area MP, Erias Lukwago, on Thursday.
They urged Parliament to review the trade instrument No. 2 of 2009.
“Whereas the petitioners are not opposed to paying trade licence fees, they are aggrieved that they have been compelled to pay a high amount of tax over and above the statutory limits, which is a violation of their economic rights,†Lukwago said.
He explained that according to the trade law, wholesale traders are supposed to pay sh100,000 for grade one and sh60,000 for grade two.
He added that retail traders should pay sh35,000 and sh20,000 for grades one and two respectively.
“However, by end of the year, KCC had been charging varying amounts of trade licence fees ranging between sh360,000 and sh950,000 for various categories of wholesale trade and sh200,000 for retail trade,†Lukwago said.
He urged Parliament to intervene in the matter, saying the traders were at the brink of closing their businesses.
The Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, directed the committee on trade to expeditiously handle the matter and report back to Parliament before the House is adjourned.