How to Calculate Car Import Taxes in Uganda (The Simple Way)

If you’ve ever tried to import a car into Uganda, you know how confusing the taxes can be. Between strange terms like CIF, multiple types of taxes, and the ever-changing URA forex rates, it’s easy to feel lost.

But here’s the truth: The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) uses their own official vehicle valuation list (which sets the base prices for calculating taxes) which may be different from the price you actually buy the car. The URA motor vehicle valuation list is long and runs to over 30,000 cars and changes regularly.

That’s why most people either underestimate their import taxes or overpay due to small mistakes.

The good news? You don’t have to go through that anymore — Motoka UG has simplified the entire process for you. All you need to know is the make e.g. Toyota; model e.g. Premio; Year of Manufacture and Motoka UG calculates the rest of it for your free.

📄 Understanding How URA Calculates Car Import Taxes

When you import a car into Uganda, URA calculates taxes based on a key value called CIF — which stands for Cost, Insurance, and Freight.

What CIF Really Means

CIF is the total value of your car delivered to the port (Mombasa or Dar es Salaam). It includes:

The cost of the vehicle in its country of origin
The insurance for shipping
The freight (shipping cost) to the port

URA doesn’t just take your word for the CIF. They use an official motor vehicle valuation list, which assigns a CIF value to thousands of specific car models, years, and engine types.

⚠️ Important: The price you see online (for example, on a Japanese car website) is not the same value URA uses. URA uses its own CIF valuation list to standardize taxes across all importers.

💡 The Problem with the URA Excel List

The URA motor vehicle valuation list is public—but it’s now a huge Excel file with thousands of rows that updates regularly.

This giant spreadsheet lists car makes, models, engine sizes, and their official CIF values in USD.

If you want to calculate taxes yourself, you would have to:

Download the large Excel file from URA’s website.
Search or filter through thousands of rows to find your exact car (which can be hard if you don’t know the exact model code URA uses).
Find the correct CIF value in the correct column (and hope you’re on the right row).
Check URA’s latest official exchange rate (a separate step).
Apply multiple tax rates manually (Import Duty, VAT, Excise, Withholding, etc.).
Then finally estimate the total in Uganda Shillings.

That’s hours of work—and one small error in a cell or formula can throw your entire calculation off by millions.

⚡ How Motoka UG Makes It Simple

At Motoka UG, we’ve done all that hard work for you. We’ve digitized the entire URA motor vehicle valuation list and connected it to URA’s official forex rates — so you can calculate your import taxes in seconds.

Here’s what happens when you use the Motoka UG Car Tax Calculator:

Enter your car details – make, model, and year
We find your car instantly in the URA database
We apply the official CIF value mandated by URA
We use URA’s latest forex rates to convert to Uganda Shillings
We calculate all major taxes automatically, including:
- Import Duty
- Excise Duty
- Value Added Tax (VAT)
- Withholding Tax
- Environmental Levy (if applicable)

And just like that — you see the true landed cost of your car in Uganda.

💬 “What used to take hours of filtering and search Excel spreadsheets, read tax law and searching for the right forex rates now takes just a few clicks.”

👉 Try it now: Calculate Your Car’s Import Taxes on Motoka.ug

💰 Breaking Down the Main URA Taxes

Here’s a quick look at the major taxes you’ll see on your estimate:

Tax Type	What It Means	Typical Rate
Import Duty	Charged on all imported goods	25% of CIF
Value Added Tax (VAT)	Tax on consumption	18% of (CIF & Import Duty)
Withholding Tax	Applied on import transactions	6% of CIF
Environmental Levy	Applied to cars 8+ years old	Up to 50% of CIF
Infrastructure Levy	Applied to finance railway infrastructure development	1.5% of CIF
Registration Fees	To get Ugandan number plates	Fixed cost – usually about 1.5m
Stamp Duty & Excise Duty	Taxes applied to process documents and to specific Imports	Fixed cost – usually about 200k – 300k

These are applied in sequence — not all at once — which is why manual calculation is tricky. Motoka UG’s calculator handles this automatically.

🏦 Can’t Pay Taxes Immediately? Use a Financier or Lender

Car import taxes can be expensive — especially for large-engine or luxury cars. If you can’t pay all the taxes upfront, Motoka UG can connect you to trusted financiers and lenders who help you cover the taxes and repay through a flexible payment plan.

💡 Example: A lender can pay URA your full tax bill so your car is cleared immediately. You then repay the lender over several months — just like a car loan.

👉 Search for your car and get tailored financing options here: Find a Car Loan Partner

🚛 Beyond Taxes: Trusted Partners for the Import Process

Importing a car involves more than just paying taxes. You’ll also need help with shipping, clearing, inspection, and sometimes sourcing the car itself.

That’s why Motoka UG built the Trusted Partner Network — a verified list of professionals who can support you every step of the way:

🚗 Dealers: To help you find reliable cars abroad
🔍 Inspection Agencies: To ensure your car meets Uganda’s standards (e.g. JEVIC, QISJ, EAA)
🚛 Clearing Agents: To handle port clearance and customs paperwork
🏦 Financiers/Lenders: To help you pay taxes or finance your car

👉 Search for your car here and we will connect you to our trusted partner network: Motoka UG Trusted Partner Network

✅ The Smart Way to Plan Your Car Import Budget

URA’s valuation and forex updates can change anytime — which is why it’s risky to rely on old data or guesswork.

With Motoka UG, you always get:

The latest URA CIF values
The current URA forex rate
A clear breakdown of all taxes
Access to trusted partners to complete your import smoothly

So before you send money to a seller or agent, make sure you know exactly what your total costs will be.

🚗 Try It Now — Free and Accurate

Don’t waste time scrolling through URA’s 250+ page valuation list. Get your full, URA-based car import tax calculation instantly — and see how much you’ll really pay to bring your dream car home.

👉 Calculate Your Car’s Import Taxes on Motoka.ug

Motoka UG — Car Import Taxes for Uganda, No Longer a Mystery!