Ministry of Works Assumes full Responsibility for Motor vehicle Registration from URA .

The Ugandan government has completed the transfer of the motor vehicle registration function from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), effective from July 1, 2023.

 The URA has successfully completed the first phase of the transition, which involved post-registration services. The second phase, including first registration processing, was left with the URA to allow the MoWT time to prepare, mainly by installing a new Motor Vehicle Registration System (MVRS).

The URA will hand over first-time registration and registration and licensing of foreign registered vehicles to the MoWT. The revenue collection function will still remain with the URA and will fall under non-tax revenues from the motor vehicle registration services.

The MoWT will also take over the integrations with the motor vehicle database that the URA has provided to various MDAs, including the Insurance Regulatory Authority, Uganda Police and Uganda Registration Services Bureau, for better management of the industry.

The transfer of roles aligns with the government's implementation and operationalisation of an Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), which requires the issuance of new digital plates for vehicle tracking purposes.

The MoWT has issued regulations requiring car owners to apply for replacing old plates with digital plates with tracking devices, new number series for each vehicle category, and new number series for each Government agency. A centralised vehicle register will be provided, and sensors will be inbuilt into the registration plates.

URA spokesperson Ibrahim Bbossa believes that having all aspects of motor vehicle registration offered by one agency will improve service delivery to Ugandans. Car owners will be informed of the changes as part of URA's taxpayer education programs before implementation.