Tax body, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has refuted reports in the media alleging that the newly acquired cancer radiotherapy machine is still held by the URA Customs department due to non – payment of taxes.
The cobalt-60 teletherapy (TERABALT) machine which cost Uganda Shs. 2.6 billion acquired from Czech Republic in June was due to be officially unveiled and handed over to the Uganda Cancer Institute at Mulago by the Minister of Health Dr. Ruth Aceng Wednesday morning. But in a twist of events, the hand over event was postponed at the very last minute for unknown reasons.
Some reports in the media held that the delayed unveiling of the machine was attributed to failure by relevant authorities to clear customs dues to URA and the tax body had refused to release the machine.
Dickson Katesumbwa, the Commissioner for Customs at URA told journalists on Wednesday that the allegations were false and that URA had duly completed the procedure to release the radiotherapy machine.
“The reports that the cancer machine is being held by URA are false. When we do our part and release it [machine], it is up to the responsible person to take away the machine,” Katesumbwa said.
It is understood that the said machine arrived at the URA customs bonded warehouse on August 8 and was released immediately after lodgement under method 1 since it was exempted from taxes.
Katesumbwa added; “The machine is not being held at URA, it doesn’t pay taxes and we released it as soon as the entry was captured and given a customs procedure code (CPC 472). We don’t have any claim on it. It has been exited and released but it is still in the warehouse. The responsible Ministry has to take it out and get it installed.”
Although he acknowledged that there might be safety requirements needed for the transportation of the machine, Katesumbwa insisted that URA had done its part and was in no way responsible for the delay in the removal of the machine from the customs warehouse.
Ian Rumanyika, the Manager Public and Corporate Affairs in the URA Commissioner General’s office also cleared the air about alleged URA refusal to release the cancer machine. According to Rumanyika, there is no tax demanded.
“The machine was released immediately lodgement under method 1 was done and it doesn’t pay taxes because it’s exempted,” Rumanyika told SoftPower.
Rumanyika said the machine is awaiting the responsible parties to pick it.
“They are yet to take it out of the bonded warehouse. URA did her part of releasing the machine,” he added
According to officials from the tax body, the cancer machine is tax exempt adding that it only had to follow customs procedures in order to code it as tax exempt.
Last month, while addressing a press conference, Dr. Jackson Orem, the Executive Director of Uganda Cancer Institute said they had already finished clearing with URA ahead of the arrival of the machine. It, therefore, remains unclear why Wednesday’s much anticipated hand over of the machine never took place.
Uganda’s only cancer radiotherapy machine at the Mulago national referral hospital broke down in March last year and the country has since had to wait for a lengthy construction process of the new bunker where a new machine would be installed as required.
Every year, the cancer institute treats an average of 27,100 cancer cases of which 6,000 are new cases.
