Major talks in Kigali ensure tax-free cross-border trade between Rwanda, DR Congo

Due to dwindle in trade between Rwanda and Uganda, Rwanda is looking to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for augmenting the trade. Now both the countries have agreed to come with a list of products including the size of businesses, which will benefit from tax-free cross-border trade.

A bilateral meeting took place in Rwanda's capital, Kigali where major talks on development proceeded. The meeting was attended by Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Cabinet Minister of Trade and Industry in the Rwandan cabinet and Lambert Matuku Memas, the Minister of State for Employment, Labour and Social Welfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amongst others.

The meeting held in Kigali had an agreement to promote cross-border trade between the two countries that they signed in 2016. According to Lambert Matuku Memas, there are traders who have been fraudulently exploiting the simplified trade regime that acts as a hurdle to the effective implementation of that business arrangement. He called for measures to curb that malpractice, as reported by The New Times.

Goods that are originating from member countries and whose value does not exceed $1,000 or about Rwf800,000 (COMESA) or $2,000 or about Rwf1.8 million (EAC) per consignment qualify automatically for duty-free entry in the respective markets. DR Congo officials said $2,000 for small traders, which was currently the ceiling for tax exonerated beneficiary, is a huge amount, proposing that the sum be reduced to $500.

"There is a proposal that businesspeople with goods not exceeding $500 should be the ones to benefit from the Simplified Trade Regime. This is a proposal they (DR Congo) are taking to COMESA, and we will discuss it," the Rwandan Minister, Soraya Hakuziyaremye said.

"The decision that has been made is that tax bodies of the two countries will continue to improve their cooperation so that the simplified trade regime that was put in place by COMESA, to benefit traders especially those living near the borders, be respected," she added, according to The New Times.

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