After the border
Registration is not part of the customs total
Duty, VAT and the levies are assessed on the CIF. Number plates, the registration book and stamp duty are separate, and they are charged in shillings rather than as a percentage of the vehicle.
First registration, as published by URA on 30 December 2022
URA’s Taxman article “Fees for services and various documents under the traffic and road safety” lists these first-registration fees. A later instrument may have replaced them. The article itself says the fees exclude stamp duty. The calculator can add a fee, and it keeps that amount out of the customs total.
| Vehicle | Fee (UGX) |
|---|---|
| Sedan, saloon or estate, excluding dual-purpose vehicles | 1,218,000 |
| Passenger vehicle or light omnibus, up to 28 seats | 1,218,000 |
| Estate or station wagon of 3,500 cc or more | 1,718,000 |
| Ambulance or prisons van | 318,000 |
| Omnibus with more than 28 seats | 1,218,000 |
| Motorcycle | 268,000 |
| Hiace, as its own line in that schedule | 818,000 |
| Goods vehicle, loading capacity of 2 tonnes and below | 918,000 |
| Goods vehicle, more than 2 tonnes and less than 7 tonnes | 1,018,000 |
| Goods vehicle, more than 7 tonnes and less than 10 tonnes | 1,068,000 |
| Goods vehicle, more than 10 tonnes | 1,268,000 |
| Agricultural tractor | 268,000 |
| Prime mover or tractor head | 1,268,000 |
Motorcycle excise at first registration
From 1 July 2026, item 19 of Schedule 2 to the Excise Duty Act charges UGX 500,000 on a motorcycle at first registration. The Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2026 set that figure, replacing UGX 200,000, and URA’s notice of 23 September 2026 confirms the 1 July commencement. It is excise, not the UGX 268,000 registration fee in the 2022 table above. The calculator keeps them on separate lines and adds the excise only for a motorcycle, when that box is ticked. Neither amount is part of the customs percentage.
Stamp duty on first registration
PwC’s Uganda tax summary, reviewed on 22 October 2026, describes stamp duty on first registration of an automobile as UGX 30,000 for a motorcycle, tricycle or quadricycle, and UGX 200,000 for any other motor vehicle. The calculator uses those two amounts when the stamp-duty box is ticked. PwC also notes that the registration-fee schedule and stamp duty are different charges.
Plates, inspection and insurance
Digital number plates are issued through the Ministry of Works system and carry their own fee. Because that fee is revised separately from the customs rates, the calculator leaves a blank field instead of baking in a number. Third-party insurance, the UNBS pre-export inspection, the agent’s professional fee, port storage and the Mombasa-to-Kampala transport bond are also outside both the customs percentage and the registration table. Ask the agent for those invoices. They can be larger than the infrastructure levy.
Personalised plates in the same 2022 URA article are UGX 20,000,000 for a motor vehicle and UGX 1,500,000 for a motorcycle, and the ordinary registration fee is still charged. Transfer of an already registered vehicle is a different, smaller fee and is not an import tax.