Bobi Wine Cries Fouls As URA Orders Him To Pay Up To 300 Million In Taxes To Get back His Ride

Yesterday afternoon, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) ordered former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine to pay over sh337.6m as taxes for his armored vehicle.

However, it was not immediately clear whether the sh337m is inclusive of the earlier tax fee Bobi Wine had paid. His lawyer Anthony Wameli said he would get clarification from URA on Friday morning.

In a letter to Kyagulanyi’s lawyers of Wameli and Company Advocates, URA Commissioner Customs Department Abel Kagumire said: ‘Following the re-examination of your client’s motor vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser V8 Reg No. UBJ 667, it was confirmed that the unit was armoured. The details of Ballistic protection were confirmed as 90mm for the window upper plate glass and 6 mm for the bottom Hull.’

The document established that the declaration made vide Customs reference UGCHWH C54 of February 12, 2021, did bare falsehoods of clearing it as a normal vehicle yet it was armoured contrary to Sections 203 of the East African Community Customs Management Act,2004.

The document further established that customs re-valued the motor vehicle using alternative methods of Valuation and appraised a Custom value of $166,700 which is equivalent to sh337,698,776.25.

Kyagulanyi says that his car came into the county legally and cleared by all the relevant agencies. 

He further disclosed that his car was taken to the Directorate of Interpol in Kololo and the Forensics department of police of Naguru that also cleared it.

In a long statement posted on his official Facebook page, former Kyadondo East Legislator blamed URA for not being truthful in their service

”The persecution continues! In yet another shameful move, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has written to us today requiring me to pay 337,698,776.25/= (Over three hundred million Uganda shillings) for the vehicle which came into the country legally and was cleared by all relevant agencies. The vehicle was taken to the Directorate of Interpol in Kololo and they cleared it. It was then taken to the forensics department of police in Naguru, and they too cleared it. Then we took it to URA and they did their own independent verification and levied the relevant tax which we paid” Bobi Wine said in a statement posted on Facebook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2smDu2VeDYk