Moses Akaigwe
Auto dealers have faulted the reliance on the National Valuation Database by the Nigeria Customs Service for assessing imported motor vehicles, alleging that this is being used to rip off importers across the country.
The dealers, under their umbrella association, Automobile Association of Nigeria, argued in a statement that the arbitrary Customs duties resulting from the valuation run contrary to the World Trade Organisation rules and threaten the growth of the auto market.
The statement said the recent sealing of vehicle dealerships across the country raised worries that the Customs may have contributed its own import trade duty regime outside the rules established by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that are binding on the Nigeria.
Exactly six weeks ago, the Customs sealed major auto dealers’ premises in parts of the country on the claim that marketers smuggled in vehicles without paying appropriate duties. This has been denied by the dealers who challenged the Customs to identify and prosecute the offenders, if any.
Reinforcing the auto dealers’ stance last week, an auto industry stakeholder and Managing Director of, Mr. Ifeanyi Agwu, decried the Customs Service’s clampdown on auto importers and dealers, saying the action was at variance with government’s economic policy
The dealers claimed that the Customs had a system of documentation that uses dual duty regimes that creates fertile ground for corruption to thrive within its fold to the distress of buyers of new vehicles in the country.
They argued that the Customs services’ duty computation system is not based on any known indices and certainly not based on the WTO guidelines, which applies only to duties determined as Freight on Board (FoB). This means the amount the manufacturer sold the products to the Nigerian or any other country’s importer, less than the cost of shipment/transportation.
This cost {FoB] applies to all buyers of the products from the same manufacture and so could easily be calculated for the sake of local duties in the destination country. But where the cost of FoB is different, it is likely to be in respect of accessories in the vehicles which could be calculated to arrive at the final cost on which FoB/duties are based
The dealers explained that freight is usually determined by charges from the country of origin of the product to its destination. They also noted that all embassies in Nigeria that have motor vehicle manufacturing companies servicing the nation’s auto market have the FoB cost of their products which is universal and can be verified in Nigeria by the Customs.
The bone of contention in the face-off is a document titled “National Valuation Database for imported motor vehicles 2014-2019”, which the dealers say was used by the Customs to arbitrarily inflate the FoB value by over 100 per cent {compared to the FoB supplied by the manufacturers of the automobiles from their country of origin}.
In his reaction Agwu, whose BKG Exhibitions organises the annual Abuja and Lagos Motor shows, said “Customs cannot wake up and go to the car companies and ask them to bring documents of cars that are already in their showrooms. We should be careful with what we do with some of these companies who do not tolerate the kind of acts that Customs are exhibiting.
‘’Besides, these companies have standards for their dealerships all over the world. This is totally uncalled for, it is de-marketing Nigeria. The Presidency should wade into this and ensure that no agency of government jeopardises its efforts to revive the economy.’’