Kampala — In the spirit of stronger East African integration, the revenue authorities of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have started preparations for the implementation of a Single Customs Territory.

In a meeting held at the Mombasa Port, Kenya early last week, the Commissioners' General of the three East African countries deliberated on the mechanisms to operationalize the decisions of the heads of state who have continuously called for its fast tracking.

On June 25, 2013 at the Entebbe State House in Uganda, a Tripartite Summit involving the three heads of state issued a joint communiqué directing among other things the collection of customs duties by Uganda and Rwanda before goods are released from Mombasa.

The leaders also agreed that traders with goods destined for warehousing should continue executing the general bond security.

In the meeting, the Commissioners' General of the three countries put in place joint technical committees on ICT, Business Process, enforcement, change management, legal and human resource to discuss the implementation road map.

In a statement signed by the three Commissioners' General, they said that the development of a Single Customs Territory will positively impact on the trading activities of the three countries as it will ensure that assessment and collection of taxes is done at the country of destination before cargo moves out of the port.

"As a result, the East African Community Customs Union will join the ranks of other Customs Union such as South African Customs Union and the European Union among others. Under this arrangement, restrictive regulations are eliminated as the corridor is now considered for customs purposes. For clarity, circulation of goods will happen with no or minimal border controls," reads the statement in part.

In a press briefing at the Customs Business Center in Kampala last week, Ms. Allen Kagina, the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) clarified that actualization of the Single Customs Territory will not cause any job losses as some clearing agents had speculated, but will rather benefit them as there will be closer cooperation.

"We are hearing that clearing agents are complaining that there will be loss of jobs... incidentally even the Kenyans are doing the same. We don't anticipate any job losses, instead we have agreed with Kenya that there will be mutual recognition of clearing agents as well as insurance bonds," she said.

SCT will help reduce cargo clearance delays, reduce clearance costs and multiple bond securities, eliminate check points, ensure seamless flow of goods as well as increase revenue collection through easier payment systems.

It should be noted no East African Country managed to hit their revenue collection targets from customs during the 2012/13 financial year.

Meanwhile the proposal for a single customs territory at Mombasa port is also causing some concern reports Baz Waiswa.

Skeptics say it will hurt regional economies.

Clearing and forwarding agents in the region are not so sure. They believe they will lose jobs and the whole arrangement will increase the cost of doing business.

In an interview, Kassim Omar, the Chairman of the Uganda Clearing and Forwarding Association (UCIFA), said they are holding a series of meetings to come up with an official position.

"A single customs territory will increase the cost of doing business actually some of our friends are going to lose jobs and there will be increased unemployment in the region," Omar said.

"We cannot make or propose any amendments as we all know the Presidents have an interest in this, we can only oblige to what is being offered, "Omar replied when asked if they are looking at offering their opinions and amendments.

However, he said some traders especially those importing for export should be allowed to pay their taxes once they get their goods inside Uganda or Rwanda.

In the recent past, clearing agents have been advised to move their offices to Mombasa where they should be stationed to carry out their duties. Landlocked countries like Uganda and Rwanda.