THE Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents will be writing the National Assembly immediately after the Eid al-Fitr break to express their grievance over the newly introduced 15 per cent National Automotive Council levy introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service on imported vehicles.
The acting National President of ANLCA, Kayode Farinto, in a statement on Monday, noted that the leadership of the association would engage the legislature on the insensitivity of this present administration.
He vowed that the group would ensure that the Ministry of Finance was dragged before the people’s representatives on this issue.
“The 15 per cent National Automotive Council levy would be pursued vigorously immediately after the Sallah break. I am assuring you that the leadership would engage the National Assembly on the insensitivity of the present government to the plight of the masses to have introduced the levy at this period when the economy is in comatose. We will also ensure that the Federal Ministry of Finance is dragged before the peoples representatives on this matter.”
The NCS recently introduced a 15 per cent NAC levy on used imported vehicles, a decision which didn’t go down well with clearing agents in the country’s maritime sector.
The agents have argued that the NAC levy is mostly meant for new vehicles, questioning the rationale behind the introduction of the duty on used vehicles.
In a quick response, the service, in a statement by the National Public Relations Officer, Timi Bomodi, said the move was in compliance with the Economic Community of West Africa Common External Tariff.
But Farinto, who is also one of the newly elected members of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, said that the council, when inaugurated, would engage the National Assembly.
“Since the CRFFN Governing Council may also be inaugurated this week, it will be our first issue to be raised at the plenary which needs urgent national attention. All our efforts to eliminate NAC-turned-levy is being done in collaboration with the Motor Dealers Association.”
Farinto raised the alarm that people might try to frustrate the soon-to-be-redeployed Vehicle Identification Number for the valuation of imported vehicles.
“It was obvious that the NCS would be implementing the VIN valuation this month, going by the news filtering in the industry, and we need to monitor this. People that would not want the process to be successful may introduce things outside the agreement into the procedures.”
He charged agents to allow the process to work.
“I released the agreed procedures on clearance of Standard Chassis Vehicles that fall within VIN Valuation and Non-Standard Chassis Vehicles, salvage and ‘’accidented’’ vehicles a few days ago.
“We need to allow these new changes, going by all we go through in the hands of Customs’ various units to clear vehicles at the ports,” he concluded. (Punch)
