Japanese cars are so praised all over the world that even the landlocked country Uganda in East Africa imports these vehicles from Japan. As different countries have different onrush processes of importing a car, Uganda also has some regulations and factors for a serene & pacific import process.
The following rules and steps you need to know for car import from Japan to Uganda are described down below:
Car import regulations in Uganda are the same as in other countries. Thus, some information about importing will help you to acknowledge the whole system and there will not be the slightest chance to get swindled by fraud exporters or owners.
1. Find Reliable Exporter: There are numerous ways to find a reliable exporter to purchase a Japanese car. You can buy cars from car auctions or professional exporters. User forums and communities can give you pertinent information about exporters and their websites.
2. Choose The Car: There are various types of cars spectacle in auctions. You have to choose the car according to your budget and desire. As Uganda has no restrictions about right-handed or left-handed cars, it is a plus point while choosing a car to drive on the roads of Uganda.
3. Order And Payment: After choosing your traced vehicle you have to go through the order & payment dictations. Complete the inquiry form with the necessary details. The payment procedure can be divided into two parts. These are:
- Proforma Invoice: In this method, you may have a negotiation to lower the price of your vehicle. If the overture of price is confirmed by both buyer and exporter, a proforma invoice will be issued. But keep in mind that the proforma invoice only has 48 hours to expire. Once the invoice time expires, the vehicle will be immediately returned to the stock list for another buyer.
- Booking & Payment: Once you pay within 48 hours and send the original TT copy with a bank stamp, it will approximately take 2 working days to concede your payment. The booking team will start the booking process of your vehicle right away. Once they begin the booking, the shipping date will be informed to you.
4. Shipping: When the booking team concludes the booking process, the shipping process will start. As Uganda is a landlocked country, it doesn't have a port of its own. Thus, the port of Mombasa in Kenya or Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania is used for importing a car from Japan to Uganda. Both cost almost the same when it comes to importing a car. The clearance process will be undertaken at the border after the vehicle arrives. The bond cancellation can be requested at this time.
5. Port Clearance: When your car arrives at the port, you need clearance. Although you can pick it up at the port yourself, it's better to contact a port clearing company. You can also inform the city delivery service to collect the car and deliver it to the destination. In this way, you won't have to worry about mechanical problems or theft & missing parts of the vehicle. Even if your car has any damage or missing parts, the city delivery service will be responsible for it. Moreover, if the car breaks down on the way from the port to the destination, they will repair it without any extra cost.
In short, this is the whole process of importing cars from Japan to Uganda. Now let's talk about the other necessary documents, costs, taxes & papers you need to import a car.
Import rules and regulations for car importation from Japan to Uganda:
- Age restrictions: There are no age restrictions in Uganda for importing cars.
- Right & Left hand: Both right and left-handed vehicles are permitted in Uganda.
- Inspection required: There is a test called "Road Worthiness Inspection" performed by "JEVIC" appointed by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). Used cars must undergo this test. This test will ensure if the vehicle is safe for running on Uganda roads.
Necessary documents for car import from Japan to Uganda:
There are some papers & documents you will need for the importing process.
- Two clear negotiable Original Bills of Lading.
- Original Bills of Lading
- Immigration Permit
- Work Permit (copy)
- Immigration Permit
- A copy of the invoice or valuation for the vehicle
- Certificate of Residence Change
- Attestation reservation de cale
- Original Passport of Consignee
- The original logbook/export documents of the vehicle from the country of origin
- A Tax Identification Number
- Electrical powered items (generally shown with serial numbers)
- Export certificate
You may have to prepare some other required documents in need. It differs from website to website or exporter to exporter. But you must have prepared the defined documents for an undisturbed onrush.
Taxes and duties to import a car from Japan to Uganda: 
General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (G.A.T.T) valuation methods determine the customs duty value on import cars in Uganda. The included taxes are:
- Import Duty- 15% of dutiable value
- Vat-17% of vat value
- Import Commission- 2% of dutiable value
- Withholding Tax- 6% of dutiable value
- Excise duty- 10% of selected cases
How long does it take to import a car from Japan to Uganda:
The import process begins as soon as the payment is received. The shipping time varies with your choice of port of entry. The whole process of onrush generally takes several weeks.
Best selling Japanese cars in Uganda:
- Subaru Forester
- Toyota Wish
- Toyota Harrier
- Toyota Premio
- Corolla Spacio
- Land Cruiser Prado
- RAV4
- Hiace Van
- Toyota Alphard
[For more reliable Japanese car brands read this article - MOST RELIABLE JAPANESE CAR BRANDS FOR PURCHASE IN 2021]
How to register your car in Uganda: 
- Once the vehicle arrives, the clearing agents will process first-time registration online through the URA portal.
- The agents can process online registration because all the agents have unique identification or number.
- When they fill up the online form with requirements, the system will create a unique acknowledgement number for the clearing agent. The number will be copied & sent to the client.
- The acknowledgement number will be used to track the vehicle registration track till it's approved.
- After the registration application is approved, an auto-generated electronic mail will be sent to the email address belonging to the agent.
- This will enable both clearing agent and status of a car's registration.
This is how the registration of an imported car takes place. The whole process needs not more than 24 hours. Therefore, the registration method in Uganda is quite easy. You can also apply online to register a car.
So these are all you have to keep in mind for car import from Japan to Uganda. The whole process of importing cars will be quite bothersome because of a lot of paperwork and shipping, but you can ensure the safety of your vehicle. So before you import a car from Japan to Uganda, make sure to know the whole process of auction, grading, shipping and registration.
[You may also read - ALL ABOUT CAR IMPORT FROM JAPAN TO UK YOU SHOULD KNOW EARLY]
