From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service NCS on Friday explained that only items imported by the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian armed forces are exempted from paying requisite duties and taxes as stated in the country’s laws.
The Deputy Public Relations Officer of Customs, Timi Bomodi explained this in a statement, while reacting to the position of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who feel they are insulated from paying duties on their official vehicles and equipment.
According to him, there is no such law that shields MDAs from paying for imported items, official or not, except where waivers and concessions were appropriately secured.
Bomodi said: “The NCS wishes to state that except where waivers and, or concessions were sought and granted, all outstanding duties and taxes relating to such imports are expected to be paid in full. This applies even in situations where these imports were executed by agents or proxies on their behalf.
“We wish to reiterate that by law, only items imported by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are exempted from the payment of duty or taxes”.
While urging affected MDAs to adhere strictly with import guidelines, Bomodi added that contractors who import and supply such equipment or vehicles without payment of duties should also be aware that they will be considered liable as fraudulent importers in such circumstances. “We urge them to avail themselves of our trade facilitation tools available on and offline. This is necessary to avoid embarrassments in future”, he stated.