.Imported used vehicle being offloaded from the container at PTML terminal last week
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) Mr. Raph Agbogu, has advised the federal government to think of reviewing the duty payable on imported used vehicles downwards to 20%, saying that it will boost the sector.
Agbogu who said this last week in Lagos also explained that bringing the duty down to 20% will discourage smugglers as the incentive behind the menace would have been removed.
He however decried the inefficiency of the indigenous vehicles assembly plants, adding that the situation has made the country 100% dependent on imported cars.
He said: “As a licensed customs agent, I think a 20% duty should be considered by the government. With this, the cost of importation will drop and many would be encouraged to bring in their wares through proper channel than smuggling them in. In the same vein, government will discover that it may no longer be necessary to continue to prohibit the importation of vehicles through the land borders as the incentive which is the high duty has been expunged from the system”
“With a poor economy not helped by the low income of the average Nigerian, one had expected a people- friendly auto policy, but the reverse has been the case. This has therefore given rise to a situation where the few that can even afford cars, either brand new or fairly used (Tokunbo) now resort to smuggling. This is not good for the nation”
According to him, “a car importer pays 35% duty, 35% levy, 5%VAT, 2% NAC levy, 7%port surcharge and pays shipping company charges. He settles terminal operators on handling charges and demurrages, a consequence of poor access roads. The consignee pays his agent for services rendered and if the car is containerized, he pays container deposit, which he will most likely lose because of traffic gridlock that would prevent the return of the container on schedule” he explained.
The NCMDLCA image-maker also maintained that with this situation at the ports, it will be very difficult for an average Nigerian to afford the huge cost of owning a car, even as he stressed that it is the major reason many car dealers resort to smuggling.
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