Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed opposition to the new policy rolled out by the Nigeria Customs Service (NLC), which requires vehicle owners to revalidate import duties paid on their vehicles.

The central labour union described the policy as “logistically callous" and cautioned the Comptroller General of the Services, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) over the planned introduction of the new policy, which, it said, will create unimaginable chaos and hardship for vehicle owners in the country.

The Customs Services had, on Tuesday, March 2 directed “all motor dealers and private owners” of vehicles “whose customs duty has not been paid, to do so,” between Monday, March 13 and Wednesday, April 12, 2017 as “there will be an aggressive anti smuggling operations to seize, as well as prosecute owners of such smuggled vehicles after the deadline of Wednesday 12 of April 2017.”

But in the letter addressed to Comptroller General of Customs, NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, stressed that the policy was not only selfserving, but will, in the end, enrich some personnel of the Customs Service who contributed in no small measure to the present situation through acts of commission or omission.

Wabba noted that subjecting vehicle end users to the trauma of paying custom duties long after they purchased their vehicles was unfair and unacceptable. 

"It is common knowledge that duties on imported vehicles are payable at the point of entry.

"Subjecting vehicle end-users to this kind of trauma, majorly of whom have no hand in the importation of their vehicles, is unfair and unacceptable. There is no information on the vehicles to be excluded from this exercise.

"This presupposes that the owner of a Morris Minor or a Peugeot 404 brought into this country in the 70s is similarly affected", Wabba said. He argued that the policy, if allowed to stand, would create a state of mental siege as a result of all manner of endless verification and re-certification exercises in the country. 

According to Wabba, it is morally wrong to inflict on the citizenry this kind of discomfort and advised the Customs Service to shelve the plan.

Wabba stated that the usual excuse that Nigeria had porous borders and most vehicles on the roads might have been smuggled couldn’t be a justification for the proposed policy.

“In place of this unpopular policy which has received condemnation from all sectors of the economy, Nigeria Customs Service should devise a coherent response that will deal with these challenges.

“Such a response, we believe, should focus on capacity building, modernization of operations, use of technology, massive corruption in the system and inspiration/ incentives to officers and men in order for them to deliver on their mandate as well as meet annual targets", the letter read.

New Telegraph