Rwanda customs and trade systems

Customs and the single window

TradeMark Africa said on 7 February 2012 that the pilot of the Rwanda electronic single window was launched at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Kigali. Five bodies took part: the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), the Ministry of Health, the Rwanda Development Board, the Rwanda Bureau of Standards and MAGERWA ². The system runs on ASYCUDA World, which UNCTAD developed. TradeMark East Africa gave US$3.33 million, and full rollout was planned for May 2012 ².

Rwanda told the WTO that the ReSW was introduced in 2012 and evaluated in early 2015. It said the system now uses ASYCUDA World, a combined customs management and integrated border management system ³. It allows one declaration with all the information each agency needs ³.

An undated UNCTAD ASYCUDA case study says implementation officially began in February 2011 ⁴. That date differs from the 2012 dates in the WTO record and the TradeMark Africa release ^{2,3 4}. The case study reports average import clearance falling from 264 hours in 2012 to 34 hours in 2014, and exports from 67 hours to 34 hours ⁴. It says up to US$18 million was saved in trade costs and delays between 2012 and 2015 ⁴.

Online payments: Irembo

The World Bank wrote on 28 February 2017 that Irembo launched in 2015. RwandaOnline, founded by local entrepreneurs, runs it under a 25-year build-operate-transfer concession ⁵. Irembo then offered more than 40 online services and took over 100,000 applicants a month, about 45% of them on mobile phones ⁵. The article said Irembo typically collects about US$1 per transaction and has a technology agreement with Crimson Logic of Singapore ⁵. These figures date from 2017 ⁵.

Transit and cargo tracking

The New Times reported on 1 April 2017 that Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda had commissioned the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System. In Rwanda it is monitored from a central monitoring centre at RRA headquarters in Kigali ⁶. The paper said the Rwandan part cost US$4.5 million, paid by the UK Department for International Development through TradeMark East Africa ⁶. It said about 80% of Rwanda's imports and exports pass through the port of Dar es Salaam ⁶. The paper said Tanzania was being asked to join the system ⁶.

Clearing agents

An RRA page on licensing of agents, with a 2016 copyright date, says importers are obliged under the customs law to use customs clearing agencies ⁷. The page read for this guide does not list fees, bonds or validity periods ⁷.

Border posts

The Schedule to the EAC One Stop Border Posts Act, 2016 names six Rwandan pairs ⁸.

The DRC border at Rubavu

The border with the DRC at Rubavu and Goma is not in the EAC Act's Schedule ⁸. The EastAfrican, in a report by Patrick Ilunga of 13 February 2025, said the North Kivu governor appointed by M23/AFC leader Corneille Nangaa ordered longer opening hours after the capture of Goma. The post was to run from 6am to 10pm, after nearly three years of closing at 3pm ¹⁰.

Audit findings

The New Times reported on 12 May 2015, in an article by Kenneth Agutamba, that the Auditor General's report put RRA's announced collections for the year to 30 June 2014 about Rwf32.5 billion above the trial balance ⁹. As reported by The New Times, the Auditor General found a gap between reported collections and the figures from RRA's IT systems, and asked whether RRA's IT spending gave value for money ⁹. The paper said its questions to RRA commissioners were referred to the finance ministry, and one commissioner said it was too early to comment ⁹. The Auditor General's report itself was not opened for this page, so these points rest on the New Times account ⁹.