Nigeria’s federal government has forbidden the importation of vehicles through land borders
Beginning the 1st of January 2017, new and used vehicles will no longer be allowed to be imported through land borders according to a recent statement by Nigeria Customs Services (NCS), reports the Daily Trust.
“Importers of vehicles through the land borders are requested to utilize the grace period up till 31st December 2016 to clear their vehicle imports landed in neighboring Ports,” said the order
Clearing vehicles at the seaports implies that the prevailing tariff regime since 2014 applies which includes 35 per cent duty, five per cent VAT, one per cent inspection levy and seven per cent port surcharge for used vehicles, Nigeria’s Common External Tariff (CET).
Seme border near Lagos is one of the major legal land borders where most used vehicles come in through to Nigeria from Cotonou, Benin Republic says the Daily Trust.
This follows a ban on importation of rice through the land borders in April 2016, restricting all imports to seaports due to reported increase in smuggling activities at the borders.
According to the Punch, automotive industry stakeholders had earlier called on strict regulations on the importation of vehicles, noting that poor implementation of the auto policy which was introduced in the last quarter of 2013 was driving down the volume of their products.
