Uganda: new EAC duties on oils, biscuits, sausages and nappies
From 1 July 2026, Uganda is applying expanded customs duties, between 36% and 60%, on a wider list of products classified as sensitive, such as cooking oils, butter, biscuits and sausages. PVC items and baby nappies see their duty rise from 25% to 35%.
Published · Updated
According to a KPMG briefing on the reform of the East African Community (EAC) common external tariff for fiscal year 2026/2027, Uganda has expanded, with effect from 1 July 2026, the list of products classified as sensitive, which now includes cooking oils, butter, biscuits and sausages, taxed at between 36% and 60% depending on the category.
PVC items and baby nappies, often imported in bulk from China, see their customs duty rise from 25% to 35%. These increases are part of a broader push to protect Ugandan agri-food and manufacturing production, a rationale regularly invoked by the EAC to justify sensitive-category classification.
The measure took effect on 1 July 2026, at the start of the EAC's 2026/2027 fiscal year. The KPMG briefing consulted does not mention a safeguard clause for orders already being shipped at the time of the change.
Ugandan importers of processed food products, PVC household items and baby care goods bought in China are directly affected, as are distributors who resell these products on the Ugandan market or into neighbouring countries via regional corridors.
What it changes for an importer
For a Sorva client active in Uganda, these increases mean that a product previously taxed at 25% may now be taxed at 35%, or more if it falls within the expanded sensitive category, which must be factored into the cost calculation before confirming the factory order. Sorva can help check the product's tariff code with the client and compare packaging or composition alternatives, without standing in for Ugandan customs on the final classification or on clearance.
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