The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has debunked the news that some freight forwarders are collaborating with importers and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to violate federal government policy on age limit of vehicles imported into the country, it said that members of the association do not clear vehicles below 2005 models.
The chairman, Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited (PTML) chapter of NAGAFF, George Okafor, who gave this explanation last week in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos, said that the reason is to ensure that they uphold the federal government’s 15 years age limit policy on imported vehicles.
Explaining further, the NAGAFF, PTML chairman said that even if over aged vehicles come in through the terminal, it is as good as a waste because it won’t be cleared adding that the practitioners at the terminal only clear vehicles from 2005 upwards.
“Even if they bring in over aged vehicles in here it is as good as nothing because we don’t clear such vehicles here. We don’t clear any vehicle that is below 2005, what we clear here is from 2005 above if you check the valuation that is what is in the value”, he explained.
He however said that the reason is because the federal government’s policy on age of vehicles is 15 years, stressing that the age limit policy is only applicable to cars that are not commercial.
“Why we do that is because the policy is 15 years, commercial vehicles are free, buses, trucks they come in they don’t have year limit; it is only the cars that have year limit”, he said.
“It is cars and vehicles that are not commercial, cargo vehicles that have 15 years limit, so we don’t clear over age vehicles here. If they come in here it will be seized, it may come in through other ports but in my chapter here at PTML here where I work they don’t come in” he concluded.
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