Method
How the estimate follows URA’s example
URA’s import FAQ walks through one used car. This page repeats that arithmetic, then shows the two charges the FAQ left out of the total.
The customs value comes first
For a vehicle arriving by sea or road, the customs value is cost, insurance and freight to the first East African port, such as Mombasa or Dar es Salaam. URA’s example uses a car older than 9 years with a FOB price of USD 2,000, insurance of USD 200 and freight of USD 300. The CIF is USD 2,500. At the example rate of 3,600 shillings to the dollar, the customs value is UGX 9,000,000.
For a used motor vehicle, that value is not taken from the invoice. URA’s FAQ says the Used Motor Vehicle Valuation Database is the basis of the value, under the East African Community ruling on used goods of 13 December 2013. This site’s search uses the database reviewed on 1 August 2026: 31,872 numeric CIF entries. Source serial 28692 had no numeric CIF and is left out.
The five lines in URA’s example
URA applies these rates to the UGX 9,000,000 value:
| Charge | Base in the FAQ | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty, 25% | Customs value | UGX 2,250,000 |
| VAT, 18% | Customs value plus import duty | UGX 2,025,000 |
| Withholding tax, 6% | Customs value | UGX 540,000 |
| Environmental levy, 50% | Customs value, because the car is over 9 years | UGX 4,500,000 |
| Infrastructure levy, 1.5% | Customs value | UGX 135,000 |
| FAQ total | UGX 9,450,000 |
VAT in that example is not charged on the environmental levy, the withholding tax or the infrastructure levy. The calculator keeps that structure. When excise duty applies, it is added to the VAT base, because the FAQ’s car did not attract excise and the VAT base shown there is customs value plus import duty only.
What the FAQ total does not include
The East African Community import declaration fee is 1% of the customs value for goods entered for home use. On the example car that is UGX 90,000, so the customs total becomes UGX 9,540,000. Some goods are exempt from the declaration fee and the infrastructure levy. Most built-up passenger vehicles are not among those exemptions. The calculator includes both, and the duty percentage can be changed when a heading is not 25%.
Excise duty is also outside the FAQ example. For a passenger petrol or diesel vehicle above 2,000 cc, this estimate charges 10% of the customs value plus import duty. Hybrids, electric vehicles, goods vehicles and motorcycles are left at zero excise. A 1,500 cc car, which is what the FAQ numbers behave like, has no excise, so the FAQ total is unchanged.
The calculator has a button that loads these exact inputs. Withholding tax is an advance income tax. A person with a TIN may be able to credit it later. It is still part of the amount assessed at clearance in URA’s example.