Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and licensed customs agents have been conniving to circumvent the age limit imposed on the importation of used vehicles into the country by the Federal Government.
This was revealed in an investigative report published by Shipping Position Daily on Monday.
Although the policy of the Federal Government on importation of used vehicles forbids importation of vehicles older than 15 years, Nigeria reportedly imported an estimated 1.3 million vehicles in 2019 as against 56% more than 734,000 units imported in 2017.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, the total value of used vehicles imported into Nigeria between January and September 2021 is N531.7 billion. Figures for the last quarter of 2021 were not available as at press time.
Some of the terminals that handle imported used vehicles in Lagos, confirmed to Shipping Position that vehicles older than 15 years are still being allowed in through the seaports, in clear violation of the policy.
Although no customs licensed agent was willing to be quoted, because of the sensitive nature of the matter, they reportedly confirmed the existence of an unwritten agreement between them and customs officials, to discountenance the government’s age policy on importation of used vehicles.
Some unnamed clearing agents also reportedly claimed that there is no strict rule governing the importation of used vehicles.
“Sincerely speaking, we import overaged vehicles; we also import accidented vehicles. Customs also need to collect duty, so they allow these vehicles to pass”, an unnamed clearing agent at Tin Can Port confided in Shipping Position’s correspondent.
Certain car sales points around the Lagos port area, also reportedly attested to the fact that there is a high importation of vehicles above the 15 years’ age limit
On why there is still high-level importation of overaged vehicles into the country, some of the car marts owners reportedly attributed the development to the boom in taxi business especially Uber and Bolt, resulting from high demand of vehicles believed to have a low fuel consumption.
A car dealer at the popular Berger car mart in Apapa, Lagos was said to have justified the importation of vehicles that are above 15 years old, arguing that many Nigerians cannot afford to buy a car that falls within the age bracket stipulated by the Federal Government.
“Due to increase in foreign exchange, many Nigerians now go for vehicles as old as 2002-2007 models,” the dealer added.
The report also quoted another anonymous source to have said:“past governments in Nigeria at various times imposed age limits for vehicles being imported into the country. It bugs one’s mind why a government would embark on such pronouncements. A well-maintained 20-year old car could be more affordable and costlier to most middle and low-income earners. There’s no gainsaying the bulk of vehicles used for commercial purposes fall within this bracket”.
“Our borders continually receive these ‘banned’ vehicles and the so-called hardworking Nigeria Customs officials manage to grab some to display on national television.”
Speaking also, the National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Agents (ANLCA); Mr. Babatunde Mukaila reportedly blamed the Nigeria Customs Service “for circumventing the auto policy by conniving with corrupt clearing agents who are bent on circumventing the federal government policies and laws.”
He said: “Government policy ought to be implemented to the letter by the NCS, they should be able to tell us how come overaged vehicles still find their way into the country through Nigerian ports under the watch of Customs officials, maybe they have any other means of granting waiver they should tell us,
“There is no other reason than some crop of importers that believed they should be bringing bad vehicles into the country and Customs is allowing them, they are collaborating with them in a kind of counterproductive measure to undermine the position of the government on the issue of overaged vehicles”, he alleged.
“I still insist that if anybody goes against government policy, the duty of Customs is to play their roles which they have refused to do in this context; it’s all about corruption in the port, if anybody make an attempt and Customs stand their ground, everybody will go back, because they are encouraging them to do that, of course it’s going to continue” he said.
On his part, the President of African Professionals Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFFLON) Otunba Frank Ogunojemite stated that it will be difficult to ascertain that all overaged vehicles come in through the seaports, even as he argued that smugglers still bring in the vehicles through land borders.
“Smugglers are still working, so these vehicles may as well be coming in through the land borders, secondly you know most of these vehicles can come in through the ECOWAS country registered, so when they come into the country you never can tell whether it is through the seaports or not, so we need to have statistics to actually ascertain the number of over-aged vehicles that come in through the seaport.”
Although, according to the report, the Public Relations Officer of the NCS Tin Can Command, Mr. Uche Ejeiseme, did not deny that over-aged vehicles still come into the country, he believes it would be difficult to ascertain the age of vehicles through viewing or through pictures.
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