UK Car Shipping to Uganda

Cost of Shipping a Car from the UK to Uganda (Mombasa, Dar es Salaam)

The total cost of shipping depends on the vehicle make, model and most importantly size. We work directly with all shipping lines in the UK to arrange regular and reliable vehicle exports from the UK to Uganda (Mombasa, Dar es Salaam).

Approximate — call for the latest rates. These are indicative shipping rates from our published rate table. They cover the sea leg to the port Uganda is reached through — Mombasa (Kenya) or Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) — and do not include the onward leg from there, which is quoted separately. They move with the market and with the vehicle, and a full export quote covers the UK-side work listed below as well, so treat them as a guide rather than a final price. See the full rate table or ask us for an itemised quote.

What a full export quote covers

• Loading and lashing vehicle into ship
• UK customs export and clearance
• UK port handling charges
• DVLA documentation and export certification
• Export documentation (e.g. Bill of Lading)
• Posting of the Export Documents from UK by UPS/DHL
• Shipping of the vehicle from the UK to Mombasa (Kenya) or Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

Not covered

• Pre-Export Inspection (if required)
• Marine Insurance (container only)
• Collection and/or delivery of the vehicle
• The onward leg from Mombasa (Kenya) or Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Uganda
• All destination country's import fees

Apart from import duty, taxes, port storage and demurrage at the destination, which the importer always pays, we can add any of these to your quotation, priced separately, along with customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent.

Shipping to Uganda

Uganda has no coastline, so a car for Kampala crosses the sea to Mombasa in Kenya or Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and finishes its journey by road; the rates and sailing dates on this page cover the sea leg only. From Mombasa it follows the Northern Corridor, the trade route that links the port with Uganda and the Great Lakes region. From Dar es Salaam it takes the Central Corridor, which connects Tanzania's main port with Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and their neighbours. The port guides to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam describe both.

Clearance happens before the border, not at it. Under the East African Community's Single Customs Territory, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) assesses and collects the taxes while the car is still at the port where it landed. A used vehicle is moved from the quay to a container freight station or inland depot, entered there for home use or for a bonded warehouse, and released by URA's own officers with an exit note. It is then tracked by road to the Ugandan border. First registration, with Uganda's digital number plates, follows once customs has cleared the car.

The car must also meet Uganda Standard US 845:2017 for roadworthiness, checked by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). In recent years UNBS has switched between inspection before export, by firms it appoints for a year at a time, and inspection by its own staff in customs-controlled areas after arrival. When pre-export inspection applied, a car that arrived without its certificate faced a penalty of 15% of its CIF value, so we confirm which arrangement is in force when you book and can arrange the inspection here if it is needed, quoted separately from the shipping price.

In the UK we source the car, arrange tax-free supply from the selling dealer where it qualifies, collect it, clear UK export customs and load it. Sailings leave from Southampton, Liverpool, Felixstowe, London Gateway and Sheerness. We can arrange the onward journey, clearance and registration through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice.

Documentation Required for Booking

• Car Registration Document (V5 or Logbook) and Vehicle Invoice (or value).
• ID (one government-issued photo ID and one utility bill showing address).

Payment Terms / Modes

• A £1,000 deposit secures a vehicle we source or buy for you. It is part of the price, not an extra fee. If you cancel, our terms and conditions say what is refunded.
• The balance is due in full, in cleared funds, before the vehicle is loaded, unless your quotation sets out different terms.
• Bank transfer preferred. Card payments up to £5,000, with no fee on personal debit or credit cards.
• Letters of credit, cheques, money orders and cash are not accepted.

Our Other Services

Car Sourcing and Buying on your behalf

Buying and exporting a car to Uganda doesn't need to be stressful. UK Vehicle Exporters specialises in sourcing and exporting vehicles from the UK, with trusted shipping partners and support at every stage, from choosing the vehicle through to loading it onto the ship.

Tax-Free Vehicle Supply and UK VAT

UK Preferential Origin (Reduced Import Duty)

Some UK-built vehicles may qualify for reduced or zero import duty. That depends on the UK having a trade agreement with the destination country and on the car meeting that agreement's rules of origin. During your quote, we'll confirm whether the vehicle you're interested in qualifies.

VAT-free Supply of VAT-Qualifying (VATQ) Cars

A VAT-registered dealer can sell a new car, or a used car that carries VAT on its full price, free of UK VAT when it is exported and HMRC's conditions are met. Used cars of that kind are known in the trade as VAT-qualifying: typically ex-rental or ex-lease cars, where the hire or leasing company reclaimed the VAT when it bought them. On a VAT-inclusive price, the VAT is one-sixth. A used car sold under the second-hand margin scheme is different: VAT is due only on the dealer's margin, and HMRC does not let a dealer zero-rate it as an ordinary export. We are not VAT registered, so the saving comes off the dealer's price, not as a refund from us. We arrange the export to Uganda and give the dealer the proof of export it needs.

HMRC's Personal Export Scheme (PES)

The Personal Export Scheme lets overseas visitors and UK residents who are leaving the UK, and will stay outside it with the car for at least six months, buy a car free of VAT and use it here before it is exported. Only VAT-registered businesses can operate the scheme, so you buy from a dealer that runs it. The car must leave within 12 months of delivery for an overseas visitor, or 6 months for a UK resident, or the VAT becomes payable. It can suit anyone relocating to Uganda: we find a dealer that runs the scheme and ship the car when you are ready. How the scheme works.