Customs seeks reduction in levy on auto imports

ABIOLA Seun

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali, has pleaded with Federal government to reduce automotive levy from 35 percent to 10 percent to discourage smuggling.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry also lend its voice to this plea when it equally called on government to reduce import duties to 15 per cent from the prevailing 25 per cent put in place by the Federal Government.

The Customs boss maintained that reduction in the vehicle tariff will make smuggling of the product unattractive, while lamenting that his officers were weary from running after smugglers in the bush and along the Nigerian roads.

While making this appeal in Abuja at a news conference to mark International Customs Day (ICD), Ali noted that the present policy had encouraged importers to embark on massive diversion of their importations to neighbouring countries, from where they now smuggle them into the country.

The Customs boss maintained that though the policy was put in place to encourage local automobile industries, he claimed it had actually failed to achieve its objective other than heightening smuggling, thus reducing the revenue the service would have generated.

“We are appealing to the government to review this policy and reduce the levy to 10 per cent so that we can now have 45 per cent on both levy and duty paid on brand new cars.

“Hopefully, when this is done, we will get increase in importation, revenue and it will also reduce smuggling,’’ he said.

However, the Secretary General, Automobile, Boatyard, Transportation, Equipment and Allied Senior Staff Association (AUTOBATE), Sola Olorunfemi warned against any move to reduce duties paid on imported vehicles, stressing that this would be counter-productive and hobble Government’s present manpower development vision in the automotive sector.

The AUTOBATE Scribe who bared his mind in Lagos however, insisted that slashing the duties would ruin the automotive sector.

Olorunfemi argued that reducing import duties would increase unemployment and that foreign companies such as TATA and Mandilas could be forced to quit Nigeria.

But Olorunfemi posited that government should endeavour to resuscitate Nigeria’s steel industry to provide materials for local vehicle manufacturing plants.