Jenifer James
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Chairperson of the South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Lado Lukak. [File, The City Review]
The Chairperson of the South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Lado Lukak, called for the remove of the $350 electronic tax clearance that was imposed on the traders by the National Revenue Authority.
Lukak told the media on Thursday after a meeting with the clearance agency and other stakeholders that the new policy was burdening the traders and had led to a snarl-up of trucks at the border.
He lamented that the $350 contributes to the increment in the prices of goods in the country.
“Most of the trucks are stuck at the Nimule border due to the $350 to be paid per truck. Now that the prices are high because the trucks are stuck in Nimule and Mombasa, the government needs to look into that,” he appealed.
According to Mr Lukak, there is a meeting scheduled with government officials to assess the effect of the new policy on traders and consumers.
Last month, the National Revenue Authority introduced the electronic cargo tracking note (ECTN), which applies to all cargo carriers of exports from South Sudan and cargo carriers of imports into South Sudan.
However, the e-cargo clearance system has met resistance both locally and in Kenya, where the South Sudan-bound goods are cleared at the Port of Mombasa.
Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the South Sudan clearance agency, Kuoi Jacob, said more than 100 trucks carrying food and non-food items are currently stuck in the Nimule border.
“We have more than 100 trucks currently struck in Nimule; most of the trucks are carrying food items such as chicken and none of which is medicine; if the trucks spend more days, the items will be contaminated,” he lamented,
Also, the Chairperson of the Association of South Sudan Manufactory, Adam Kubanja, lamented that the introduced ECTN would cause damage to the country if left unaddressed.
“We are going to reach out to the government for a better long-term solution that will address the issues of the ECTN.”
The introduction of the electronic cargo tracking note aims at monitoring the outflow of goods from South Sudan and the inflow of goods from other countries.
Last month, the former minister of finance, Bak Barnaba, directed the national revenue authority to roll out the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note to enable importers and exporters to comply with shipment orders.
“All importers and exporters, with no exceptions, must comply and pay the agent’s service charges of $350 as required by the Memorandum of Understanding for the smooth facilitation of all goods without any delays or hurdles caused by cross-border bureaucracies,” the order stated.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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