Members of the East African Legislative Assembly(EALA) from Tanzania on Thursday walked out of a session here in protest of a bill seeking to extend time for removal of gods at seaports.
Speaking to reporters outside the assembly building after they stepped out, the members said the Customs Management (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which was being debated is not in the interest of Tanzania.
The object of the bill moved last year by Kenyan member Abdikadir Aden is to amend section 34(5) of the East African Community Customs Management Act of 2004 to extend the time for removal of bulk non-containerised goods from a port of discharge, beyond the 21 days prescribed by sub-section (1) of the law.
The chairman of Tanzanian EALA members, Dr Abdullah Makame said more consultations need to take place to ascertain repercussions to countries with ports before the bill is adopted.
“The extension will be bad for Tanzania as it provides a loophole for tax avoidance. We will not allow it,” he declared.
Another Tanzanian member Mariam Ussi argued that Tanzania stands to lose a lot of money in uncollected revenues if the bill is passed into law, noting that the bill was designed to benefit some member countries.
“If passed, the law will destroy our economy. The bill does not indicate any benefits for Tanzania but other member states,” she said.
Speaking to this paper, Aden defended the bill which sailed through the first reading last year, saying that governments have the right to collect due taxes but should not milk businesspeople to the point of killing enterprises.
“What is the use of squeezing more taxes on transit cargo that has already been taxed upon entry?” he demanded.
At the moment, under the existing Act, the entry of cargo is required to be made within 21 days from the date of discharge of the vessel failing to which, the goods contained in the cargo begin to attract demurrage charges.
Aden, who was granted leave in October last year to introduce the Bill, avers that extending the time for removal of large consignments from the port of entry would eliminate demurrage charges and hence make goods more affordable and allow for longer storage period to facilitate clearance.
