Regional traders petition EAC over taxes

THE East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is examining petitions filed by members of the business community in connection to unfair taxation and regulations.EALA is currently holding one of its regional sittings at the National Assembly in Bujumbura, Burundi. Dr James Ndahiro, Rwanda’s member of EALA, said in an interview yesterday that the legislators on Tuesday studied a petition filed by General Motors, in which the company is questioning why partner states levy taxes on its locally made products. “General Motors is complaining that partner states are disrespecting the principles of the customs union as well as the common market protocol,” he said by phone from Bujumbura yesterday. “They argue that their products are locally manufactured and that this exonerates them from external tariffs levied on goods produced outside the region.”Ndahiro hastened to add that the legislators would meet customs officials from partner states on Monday next week in order to get both versions of the complaint, before a conclusion is made. In a related development, the legislator disclosed that a group of traders from Mwanza, Tanzania had also complained to the regional bloc that their government had halted importation of dairy products from Uganda – a move the traders said contravenes the principles of the common market protocol. Ends