Japanese Used Cars to Uganda
Uganda is landlocked, so every Japanese used car reaches Kampala the same way: RoRo into Mombasa, then road transit across Kenya. HR Trading handles both halves — the Japanese export and the transit documents that let your agent move the car in bond to Kampala without paying Kenyan duty.
Destination Port
Mombasa (transit to Kampala)
Shipping Time
30–40 days
Shipping Method
RoRo / Container
Uganda Import Rules at a Glance
Drive side
Right-hand drive — required in Uganda
Age / mileage rules
No outright ban, but very old vehicles face higher environmental and excise charges
Inspection & compliance
Pre-export inspection of roadworthiness before loading in Japan
Duties & taxes
URA charges import duty, excise and 18% VAT on the CIF value into Uganda
Import rules and duty rates do change. Confirm the current position with your customs broker or clearing agent before you commit, and we will match the vehicle to the rules you tell us.
How an Import to Uganda Works
- 1
Pick the vehicle — right-hand drive, with the auction sheet and genuine mileage confirmed before payment.
- 2
We arrange the pre-export inspection and complete the Japanese export documentation in your name.
- 3
The car ships RoRo to Mombasa on a sailing that connects to the Uganda transit corridor.
- 4
At Mombasa your agent clears the vehicle in transit under a customs bond rather than importing it into Kenya.
- 5
The car travels by road to Kampala, where URA assesses duty, excise and VAT and your agent completes registration.
Shipping via Mombasa to Kampala
Transit to Mombasa takes about 25 to 35 days, and the road leg from Mombasa through Nairobi and Eldoret to Kampala adds roughly five to seven days depending on the border queue at Malaba or Busia. We book with carriers who regularly run the Uganda corridor, and we show the final destination as Uganda on the shipping documents so the vehicle is treated as transit cargo rather than a Kenyan import.
The Transit Bond Explained
Because the vehicle is only passing through Kenya, it is entered under a customs transit bond instead of paying Kenyan duty. Your clearing agent lodges that bond, and it is discharged once the car is confirmed to have crossed into Uganda. Getting the destination details right on the Bill of Lading is what makes this work, so we take the consignee and final destination from you before the vessel sails.
URA Valuation and Duty
The Uganda Revenue Authority values the vehicle on arrival and assesses import duty, excise duty based on engine capacity and 18% VAT, with the environmental levy applying to older units. URA's valuation is based on the make, model, year and condition rather than the price you paid, so an unusually cheap purchase does not reduce the tax bill. We can give you a realistic estimate of the URA figure before you buy.
What Ugandan Buyers Choose
Kampala traffic and upcountry roads push buyers towards durable models. The Toyota Probox dominates commercial use, the Premio and Wish cover private and taxi work, and the RAV4, Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V handle the upcountry routes. Toyota HiAce vans remain the standard for passenger transport, and we source all of them directly from Japanese auctions.