Customs Service accuse valuation officers of bribery in vehicles importation

The Nigeria Customs Service has charged valuation officers on imported cars at various commands with breaking the rules for inspecting, valuing, and releasing imported used cars.

This was stated in a circular with the title “Re Conduct of examination and release of used vehicles” that was dated August 24 and signed by C.K. Niagwan, Assistant Comptroller General for Tariff and Trade.

According to the service’s circular, imported vehicles should be referred to valuation seats rather than having the base value applied in order to verify the trim of the imported vehicle and assign the proper value.

Read Also: Niger Delta minister reaffirms commitment to serve region

The following was part of the circular: “It has been noted with great concern that examination and valuation officers are not adhering to the procedure for examination, valuation, and release of used vehicles. For the avoidance of doubt, all used vehicles must be examined before being sent to the valuation seat, where the trim of the imported vehicle will be confirmed and the proper value will be assigned rather than the base value. In light of the aforementioned, you are hereby requested to remind all examination and valuation officers of this procedure in order to stop further revenue loss. Make sure there is strict compliance.

Licensed customs agents have responded to this by stating that the new procedure will cause delays in the clearance of imported vehicles.

Remilekun Sikiru, the youth coordinator for the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, claimed that all of these issues should be handled by the Vehicles Identification Number used to clear imported vehicles.

The clearing of imported used cars will now take more time, according to Remilekun, the Chief Executive Officer of Sikremstar Logistics Limited.

“The normal VIN process is created with all the artificial intelligence, such as the trim, engine size, and the rest, but in Nigeria, the opposite is true. This new procedure essentially amounts to taking or reintroducing the outdated clearance procedure, which in my opinion goes against the principles of trade facilitation. And without a doubt, by using this process, jobs will take an additional 1-2 days to process, and it will involve human interference and open the door to extortion. It will also generate a significant amount of demurrage; the question is, who will be responsible for paying the demurrage? Why don’t we follow through on our promise and enter all of these chassis into the VIN valuation? For a very long time, we have been demanding this. Due to the government’s strict policies, imports have decreased significantly by up to 70%, and many freight forwarders, particularly young people, have stopped reporting to work. As this will worsen the process of trade facilitation, NCS should conduct a thorough investigation.

Read Also: Tribunal dismisses petitions against Kaduna PDP Reps

Babatunde Mukaila, a chieftain of the ANLCA, added, “We believe it is another customs ruse to discredit the VIN platform. We won’t accept it if you send us back to Egypt if your valuation officers are not acting properly. Instead, let them know and have them get back in line. We are not going to return to Egypt using their manual system, so we hope that Customs will reconsider in light of this response. Finally, he said.