When buying and importing cars from Japan to Uganda, it’s important to consider the costs of shipping and taxes and plan ahead to calculate the total cost. In this article, I give details about my personal experience importing a Japanese used car to Uganda through Kenya.
Importing a Used Car to Uganda
1. Proforma Invoice
When you begin the purchase process for your vehicle, you are also given a room for negotiations, meaning that you have room to slightly lower the price if possible. Once you’re satisfied with the negotiations, a Proforma Invoice will be issued. You have to put in mind that any requested Proforma Invoice takes only 48 hrs to expire and when it expires, the invoice will be cancelled and the vehicle you’ve chosen will be returned to the stock list for another customer. This happens with most car importing campanies like Beforward etc
2. Booking & Payment
When you pay within 48 hours and send the original TT copy showing or having bank stamp, then it will not take more than 2 working days to acknowledge your payment. The booking team in Japan will start the booking process for your vehicle and the shipping date will be sent to you upon confirmation. Conveniently, these car import companies provides all the updates for your vehicles to your email where you can be updated on the movement of the vessel to your port of destination.
Necessary Documents
Log Book Processing
For customers in Uganda, when processing to get a log book the following documents should be availed:
- Original bill of lading
- Export certificate
- Any other useful documents provided
It’s important to note that the name indicated on the bill of lading should match with the name under your Tax Identification Number (TIN). If the name on the documents does not match the name on your TIN, then delays in the clearing process in Uganda will be experienced. For customers in Kenya, the year of manufacture of the vehicle is really important. Any vehicles below or above the given year stated within official documents will cause problems with its delivery.
Purchase Documents
The purchase documents are usually sent within three to five days via DHL to the delivery address given, which depending on your choice is the consignee details or details of a third party. A tracking number is also provided on delivery, allowing you to monitor your parcels whereabouts.
The documents sent should be original and include:
- Bill of lading (two copies)
- Export certificate
- Copy of invoice
- EAA if available etc.
- Any other requested documentation
Uganda Import Tax Calculator
In order to calculate the total payment, the value (given by the revenue, current currency rate, and other taxes [including import duty, VAT, withholding tax, environmental levy, infrastructure, registration fee, etc.]) need to be considered. Reach out to us incase you need help calculating taxes of vehicle of your choice from one of our Partner vehicle import companies.
Shipment
When importing your vehicle there are not any additional expenses on top of the Cost of Insurance Freight (CIF) to Mombasa agreed upon at the time you bargained for the price.
