Customs To Grant Licences To Car Dealers For Bonded Car Terminals

After banning the importation of vehicles through the land borders, the Nigeria Customs Service, said yesterday that it would grant licences to car dealers for bonded car terminals across the country to ease stress of doing business.
The Acting Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah, announced this in Abuja
He announced the measure after a meeting between the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) and a delegation led by the National President of Association of Motor dealer of Nigeria (AMDN), Prince Abibola Adedoyin in Abuja.
Attah said that the essence of the meeting was for Customs CG to brief the association about the coming into force of the policy, what the service was doing and policy benefits to motor dealers.
He said that the policy was aimed at strengthening national economy, providing job opportunities for the youth and to strengthen the businesses of motor dealers in the country.
“The policy comes with the prospect of operating bonded car terminals and as  parts of the plan of NCS, is to grant licences to  motor dealers such that they will have bonded car terminals across the country.
`What this means is that when vehicle comes in through the sea port for instance, let’s say a dealer  has 100 vehicles, these vehicles will be escorted by customs operatives to your own bonded terminal; customs will  have outpost at your own terminal.
“Each time any of the vehicles are being sold out, all that the buyer needs is to go to customs out post and pay duty within the first 28 days; you as a dealer are not obliged to pay customs duty.
“So if you are lucky as a dealer, you move in these vehicles and you are lucky to have customers who will come and buy all of the vehicles within the 28 days, you don’t have the stress of paying duty and demurrage  because the terminal is yours.
“But after the expiration of 28 days those vehicles that have not been sold, you will pay duty on them so that the vehicles will not enter demurrage.
“Before now as a dealer, you have to struggle yourself to pay the duties immediately because you are running away from demurrage but the creation of bonded car terminal is like a concession where you have these vehicles without paying duty delivered to your own terminal for a period of time before you can pay duty,’’ Attah said.
He said that the establishment of bonded car terminals would have multiplier effect, adding that it would bring about commercial banks opening branches in that place (terminal) for the purpose of transactions.