The United Berger Motor Dealers Association of Nigeria (UBMDAN) has expressed deep fear that the plans by the Nigeria Customs Service to introduce uniformity on duties payable on vehicles might encounter some difficulties in its implementation.
The Chairman of the association, Mr. James Brown Nwakwuoke who disclosed this recently in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos, fingered corruption as one of the major impediments to the successful implementation of the plan. He also called for cooperation of officers of the service to ensure full implementation.
He said: “Duty payment, short payment, and uniformity it is very difficult for you to get uniformity when it comes to duty payment on vehicles. When corruption is involved in anything you are doing, it will be difficult to come out with uniformity and the system is very corrupt. Someone will tell you that we are clearing a vehicle with some amount, after clearing and paying the necessary duties, the same Customs will stand at the gate to tell you that you have not paid what you are supposed to pay or that you short-paid”
He reiterated that it will be difficult to implement the new directive in Nigeria with the type of mindset the citizens have where they believe that salary is not enough to make a worker comfortable.
He said that vehicles will still come into the country without payment of duties, even with the new platform on uniformity of duties.
“But if they can be able to ensure the uniformity, fine, I agree with that but I am telling you that at the end of the day, so many vehicles will leave without paying duties. Even if they computerise the whole thing, there will always be virus in the system; we belong to a country where salaries do not make anybody comfortable. They believe without corruption, they cannot go extra miles it is a very funny situation”, he said.
Speaking on the ban on land importation of vehicles, he maintained that instead of boosting activities in the seaports, it promoted corruption in the system, even as he accused the ‘big shots’ in the country as being the ones behind vehicle smuggling in Nigeria.
He also said that opening the land borders will generate more revenue for the country.
“On the ban on land borders, let me tell you that the ban on the importation didn’t boost any activities in the ports, rather it has increased corruption in the system. As I am talking to you now most big shots in the country still bring in vehicles through Cotonou port. It is only when there is a mistake and one is unlucky that they can declare the ones they want and conceal others that they don’t want to declare. I am telling you that if the land borders are opened today, you will see the type on money that will come into this country. When you clear from Cotonou, dealers association will take over to ensure that the duties where properly paid”
He also accused most private car marts of dealing mostly in smuggled vehicles.
“Like come to our market now, you cannot see any vehicle that didn’t pay complete duty, but go outside where some of these big shots transact their business you will see a lot of vehicles whose duties have not been paid. Many of them are not under the authority”
He pleaded with the government to involve dealers association if they want to ensure total compliance on the uniformity on duties.
“The association has stopped it here; if duties have not been fully paid you cannot come in here. I am telling you that within the level we are here, no vehicle enters without duty payment. So what I am saying in that regards is that whatever you are doing with regards to duty payment, you have to involve dealers through our president because they will help to sanitise any dealer whether in Berger or not” he concluded.
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