EDITORIAL: Apply EAC customs plan
Although the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol has been in force since 2010, hurdles still remain along the road to regional integration.
The Protocol aims at accelerating economic growth and overall development through the free movement of people, capital, labour, goods and services.
It also provides the rights of establishment and residence in the six EAC member states. However, the pace of implementation of the Protocol has been sluggish.
It is against this backdrop that the EAC revenue authorities vowed last Friday to push for harmonisation of their domestic tax rates in an effort to deepen the common market. The revenue authorities affirmed in Nairobi that, to effectively facilitate trade and enhance compliance, they should develop a common customs management system to replace the current independent systems at state level.
According to their joint communique issued after closure of the 45th East African revenue authorities’ commissioners-and the regional coordination committee meeting, they resolved to boldly champion domestic tax harmonisation.
They also pledged to enhance capacity to combat cargo undervaluation. We call upon them all to promptly remove internal distortions to the free movement of labour and investments for the betterment of East Africans.
