JUBA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan has announced that United Nations agencies and diplomatic missions will be exempted from paying taxes on imported goods, but contracted companies remain obligated to do so.
In an order issued Friday in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, Minister of Finance and Planning Awow Daniel Chuang said that UN-contracted companies are profit-making entities and should be subjected to applicable taxes related to services provided as per the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement signed with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) after the country gained independence in 2011.
"All UNMISS-contracted companies to render services internally shall not be part of this exemption of taxes, charges and fees levied on goods," Chuang said.
"Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of this order, exempted entities shall comply with policies and procedures related to e-cargo tracking note, e-petroleum accreditation and dipping, marking and testing of fuels entering the country aimed at monitoring and regulating goods entering the country free of charge," the minister said.
The UN system in South Sudan recently protested the tax measures imposed on UN-contracted trucks carrying fuel and other valuable deliveries, saying the measures would hamper critical humanitarian deliveries to millions of internally displaced people and more than 650,000 returnees and refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in South Sudan Anita Kiki Gbeho said that the new tax measures contradict section 7 of the Status of Forces Agreement, which was signed by individual UN agencies with the government.
UN agencies are exempt from taxes and duties on imports of supplies for their use under section 7 of the Status of Forces Agreement, which is part of the UN convention on privileges and immunities.
According to the UN official, food assistance costs would rise if the new measures are kept in place. ■
