East African Community customs law for amendment

Arusha. A legislation on the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union is to be further amended.
The change is aimed at extending removal time of bulk non-containerisedgoods at the ports of discharge.
The proposal to amend the EAC Customs Management Act, 2014 also falls within deliberate measures being taken to reduce the cost of doing business in the bloc.
A motion to amend the Act received unanimous support from the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) currently holding a session in Arusha.
Moving the motion, a lawmaker from Kenya Abdikadir Omar Aden said time has come for the legislation  to be changed to reduce cost of doing business.
He said under the existing Act, the entry of cargo is required to be made within 21 days from the date of discharge of the vessel.
Failure to that the goods contained in the cargo begin to attract a charge or demurrage.
He avers that extending the time for removal of large consignments from the port of entry would eliminate demurrage charges.  This, according to Mr. Aden would make goods more affordable “and allow for longer storage period to facilitate clearance.”
Within the six-nation EAC bloc, all cargo coming into the region enter through the designated ports, mostly Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
“I am concerned that the limited time  provided for entering and clearing bulk consigments is increasing the cost of doing business for EA importers and consumers.” asserted Mr Aden, who is also Eala’s chairperson of the General Purpose Committee.
The EAC Customs Management Act, 2014 is an amendment of the original legislation, the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004
The latter was passed by Eala in late December 2004 and paved way for enforcement of the EAC Customs Union protocol on January 1st, 2005.
As the region anticipates amendment of the law to reduce cost of doing business, Eala has urged the partner states to duly institute a Trade Remedies Committee.