Customs Receive Minister’s Mandate to Begin Slash On Vehicle Tariff

The Nigeria Customs Service has received a directive and mandate from the Federal Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed to commence the implementation of slash in tariff on imported new vehicles.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) stated this at the weekend, saying that the minister’s directive was what has hitherto stalled implementation of the Act.

Ali assured that the service will commence implementation of tariff reduction on vehicles before the end of February 2021.

“The Act has been transmitted to us. We received the minister’s mandate this week, to start working on it, although we have to develop certain regulations and measures on how we intend to implement the law.

“We have to change our codes to fit into the new law. You know that commercial vehicles levy is the only levy that has been reduced from 35 per cent to five per cent.

“So we have to change the codes to fit into the new law and we hope we’ll finish that in two days and the minister will have to look at it and agree that yes that is what we should do.

“I hope not too long from now, by next week or next two weeks, this law will come into effect. We will circulate it to our own commands to begin to operate.”

The customs boss noted that the new law would help the country to have vehicles meant for transportation with reduced duty for the benefit of Nigerians. He noted that the high duty paid had also resulted to increased smuggling of vehicles into the country.

“The Act has been transmitted to us. We received the minister’s mandate this wee” he said

The customs CG also lamented that over 400,000 vehicles are smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic yearly.

According to the CG, statistics had shown that the vehicles landed in Benin Republic before they are smuggled into Nigeria through the porus borders.

He said, “statistics available to the service showed that about 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles coming into Nigeria first stop in the Benin Republic before being smuggled into Nigeria.”