EU welcomes South Sudan's exemption of UN agencies from taxes on imported goods

JUBA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has welcomed South Sudan's move to exempt UN agencies from taxes on imported goods for humanitarian aid.

Timo Olkkonen, head of the EU delegation to South Sudan, said on Thursday evening that they need to see trucks with fuel and supplies that are stuck at the borders moving and have the assurance that the UN and the humanitarian community can continue their life-saving and peacekeeping work.

"Anything short of that would be a disaster for the people of South Sudan and cause reputational damage to the country itself," Olkkonen said.

The UN system in South Sudan recently protested the tax measures imposed on UN-contracted trucks carrying fuel and other valuable deliveries, saying the measures would hamper critical humanitarian deliveries to millions of internally displaced persons and more than 650,000 returnees and refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan.

On May 3, the South Sudanese government said the UN agencies and diplomatic missions will be exempted from paying taxes on imported goods, but contracted companies remain obligated to do so.