Any cargo tracking system is important for managing East African Community Customs affairs. The management of customs affairs in the East African Community countries is harmonised under the East African Community Customs Management Act (2004).
As of March 2017, three East African Community countries (Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda) had launched a Regional Cargo Tracking System (RECTS).
The launch of RECTS was aimed at:
1. Closing prevalent tax loss loopholes.
2. Increasing cargo flow using the joint e-monitoring system.
3. Eliminating cargo diversion into the local markets.
4. Creating alerts and responses during stop-overs that take more time than allowed.
5. Minimise cases of customs security control compromise.
6. Promote fair trade.
7. Minimise competition between locally manufactured goods and imported goods.
8. Minimise the cost of doing business locally and regionally.
9. Reduce the time taken to conduct certain business transactions.
The list of the nine expected benefits of the RECTS makes this launch worthwhile.
It is important to note that systems alone only work if there is willingness from the parties involved.
It is hoped that other EAC countries will come on board.
The list of the nine expected benefits of the RECTS makes it worthwhile to launch.
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