Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of South Sudan on September 20, 2023 during a meeting between URA’s Commissioner General, John Musinguzi and a delegation from South Sudan.

The agreement will provide the two countries with assistance in digital transformation programs like Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), tax enforcement planning, information sharing, training, and benchmarks, among others.

Musinguzi highlighted the collaborations that have happened between the two countries and thanked NRA for the support accorded to URA in cross-border trade.

“Thank you for supporting our joint efforts that have seen our countries create a conducive environment for fair and compliant business and as well fight vices like smuggling,” Musinguzi noted.

His Excellency Simon Juach Deng, the Ambassador of South Sudan to Uganda said that, the MOU will formalize the relationship that already exists between Uganda and Sudan.

“Uganda is one of the neighbors that we are doing a lot of business with, and we have a lot to learn from them. More so, from URA because they are ahead of us in revenue mobilization,” he said.

Athian Ding, the Commissioner General of NRA reassured URA of their cooperation in the fight against the vice and emphasized that tighter border controls would be effected to mitigate it.

Early this year, URA and NRA signed a bilateral agreement where they resolved to implement joint border patrols and surveillance operations along the borderline with the aim of fighting smuggling, a vice that continues to eat into the revenues of both countries.