Customs allowances at Entebbe International Airport

The legal basis

URA says goods qualify when they belong to the passenger, travel with the passenger and are for personal or household use ¹. A customs officer allows the kinds and quantities under the Fifth Schedule of the East African Community Customs Management Act ^1,4. URA's 2024 procedures cite Section 46 and item 5 of the Fifth Schedule of the Act, 2004 as amended ³. The UCAA airport page applies its concessions to travellers aged 18 or above or out of the country for more than 24 hours ⁵.

Duty free limits

The table shows the limits in each URA and airport source read on 24 October 2026. Where they differ, both are shown ^{1,2 5}.

The US$2,000 baggage limit

URA's Entebbe procedures, effective 1 July 2024, raised the passenger baggage limit from US$500 to US$2,000 for passengers who have been outside the country for more than 24 hours ^2,3. The limit covers accompanied baggage in the passenger's own name ².

Passengers declare goods to the URA officer and show an authentic purchase receipt in their own name ². Taxes on dutiable goods must be paid within two hours of assessment. Baggage not paid for in that time is moved to the cargo terminal ².

Dutiable goods over 50 kg go to the cargo terminal for normal clearance, and traders must use their tax identification numbers ^2,3. URA lists phones, shoes, perfumes, clothes and IT equipment as examples of dutiable goods ². URA's older baggage page and the FY 2023/24 leaflet still show the US$500 figure ^1,4.

• Not covered: gifts, goods for distribution to others and goods for sale ^2,3.
• Not covered: company-owned items ^2,3.
• Not covered: goods other people send through a passenger for a third party in Uganda ^2,3.

Returning residents and new residents

Ugandan residents who have been abroad for at least one year can have used personal and household effects exempted from tax. These goods are cleared through the cargo terminal ^2,3.

For a change of residence, URA exempts clothing and household effects used in the former home. One motor vehicle may be exempt if the traveller owned and used it outside a partner state for at least 12 months ^1,4. Buses and minibuses with more than 13 seats and load carriers over 2 tonnes are excluded ¹.

A visitor staying up to three months may bring in non-consumable personal goods duty free if the goods leave with the visitor ^1,4.

Prohibited goods, channels and cash

URA says used refrigerators, used computers and used televisions are not allowed into the country. They are forfeited to the state after payment of the applicable penalty ^2,3.

Passengers with goods to declare use the red channel. Passengers with nothing to declare use the green channel ^1,4.

A person carrying more than 1,500 currency points out of Uganda must notify URA before carrying it. A person bringing in more than that amount must report to URA on arrival. URA gives the value as about UGX 30,000,000 or US$9,000 ^1,4. On conviction an offender faces up to 3 years in prison, or a fine of up to US$10,000, per URA's page ¹.