The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has given some conditions that imported used vehicles must meet before the service can classify the vehicle as a damaged vehicle and worthy to enjoy the duty rebate.
This follows constant disagreements by some critical stakeholders in the sector over what qualifies a vehicle to be classified as accidented.
Explaining further, the Public Relations Officer, Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited (PTML) Area command of the service, Mr. Mohammed Yakubu who disclosed this in a chat in Lagos last week, said that a vehicle could only be termed accidented when the chassis or the airbag of the vehicle was affected.
According to Yakubu, “if for instance, you have a dent at the back of the car or maybe the bumper of the car is not there or it has been dented from the side of car, you can’t call it accidented, it has to affect chassis or airbag of the car.”
He observed that there were laid down procedures one had to go through in order to get certification from the Service that his or her vehicle falls under accidented vehicle.
“There is a process one has to follow in order to certify his vehicle as accidented, you cannot go and examine and call a car accidented. You have to apply; you have to examine to see what qualifies it as accidented before you can call it accidented. So, there is a process”.
According to him, “we have examination officers, we have them everywhere and that is why they are there. You have to apply, they have to see, the releasing officer has to go there and witness it; it has a process. So you have to follow that process and if it is not actually accidented, the process will show it”, he concluded.
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