A Motor Dealer and the Managing Director of De Feon Automobile, Niyi Olukitibi, has said that the Nigeria Customs Service would achieve a better issuance of vehicle papers if the service could go electronic.
Olukitibi made the submission in an interview at the unveiling of a new franchise with one of the major car dealers in Lagos, De Feon Automobiles.
Olukitibi said that registration of cars for import duties electronically would ease the burden of demurrage suffered by the importers which often made the cost of cars unaffordable.
“When we go for import license, we are often loaded with many custom papers which might not be necessary. All the registration can be put in a card with a code which is more convenient.
“Sometimes too, when there is a loss of these documents, to get a new one becomes an herculean task, but if this registration has been done electronically, a pin given would have sort the problem out.
“Also, registration through electronic means makes car theft difficult because the code on the card might not be transferable, so it is easier with the card more than carrying bulk of documents.
“There is need for innovation in the way we do things because complexity can affect the pricing of cars as well and this can scare the buyers away,” he said.
Olukitibi said that car dealers in Lagos State were faced with multiple taxation, adding that it was worrisome that those arbitrary levies were affecting car sale.
“One of the problems faced by the car dealers in Lagos State is multiple taxation; many a time, officials of the Local Councils come with many levies which we don’t understand.
“All these levies are the contributors to why cars are sometimes expensive, government should also as a matter of urgency help in expediting the registration of cars.
“Registration of cars manually should be discarded for more convenient electronic registration of cars, besides this, our cars will be safe,” he said.
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