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By Steve Agbota
Clearing agents operating at the Tin Can Island Port and PTML have called on Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend the controversial Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) valuation system used for allocating standard values to all vehicles coming into the country.
As the protests enter day three, the frieght forwarders said that they are not asking Customs to suspend the policy outrightly but should return to old system until the anomalies in the new system would be resolved.
Speaking with Daily Sun yesterday, the Chairman of
Association of Registered Freight Forwarders Nigeria (ARFFN) PTML chapter, Emmanuel Ohambele sai
According to him, In 1995, there was a similar policy that was passed by Customs that made Nigerian importers to leave the ports in bringing in their goods and they resulted to use port of Cotonou, saying within that space of time, the Cotonou economy was on high increase.
He said the revenue that supposed to be generated into the government coffers will be going to other nigbouring countries, saying it is if the policymakers are sabotaging the Nigerians.
He said the policy will lead to job losses considering the numbers of people working at the ports, saying government is not creating jobs for the youths, but freight forwarding job is the safe job.
He urged Customs to allow the policy to have human face, saying because it is like somebody is trying to sabotage the efforts of Minister of Finance because the policy is outrageous.
All of us go to the same market to buy. For instance, a camry of 2010, before it was cleared by around N700, 000 to N800,000 including the duty but today, the duty alone is N2.5 million making it more than 300 per cent increment.
We are begging, let the Customs do the needful by following due process and the law that been on ground and follow it. The economy is already bad
He said the protests started at PTML being cars terminal after 72 hours given to Customs to look at the issues of VIN Valuation as it affect the agents and importers.
We passed the protests from PTML to Tin Can command and Port and Cargo. We intended going to Apapa today but the Commissioner of Polici intervened and ask us to wait to see the outcome of their meeting today. If there is no outcome today, probably we will go there tomorrow to sensitized our people there.
He said the protests has been so progress and people have been complying, saying there is no hijackers because everybody is feeling the pains.
“We are feeling the pains and the economy is already painful and the Customs wants to add more pains it. Instead of them to allievate the problems but they are trying to increase it.”
Meanwhile,
The Chairman, National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agent, Tin Can chapter, Abayomi Duyile, urged the Customs to do the right thing by looking at the values issuing to the agents.
He said that agents pay about N200,000 last year, which is the lowest and currently is about N400,000.
He said if there are 6000 vichicles are trapped now at the port, in the next few days, there would be over 12,000 vehicles that will likely to be trapped.
“Looking at the nation’s economy now, that means it is a calamity. This is what we are trying to avoid but the Customs are towing the line we are seen.
“If we should talk about congestion now, that means the ease of doing business has been abused because the essence of it is that vessels coming into the country should be able to discharge its cargo within 24 hours and the cargo should be able to leave the port within 48 hours,” he said.
He said that agents will not back down the protests until Customs do the needful because it is their law.
Customs law of 2003 that gives us six sequences to generate transaction values, which means that for everything that imported into the country that should be a proof of invoice.
“If I buy a vehicle in America, I’ll collect a receipt, if the vehicle is coming to Nigeria, I’ll provide the receipt. These are treaties that Nigeria is signatory to. But it quite unfortunate that the same law we are meant to apply in Nigeria the Customs is not doing it.
“The protests took place because of the obnoxious increase of the vehicle duty by Customs.
Immediately we notice the VIN valuation policy, the Controller of PTML invited us over for discussion. He narrated the new process and development from their headquarters in Abuja.
“The challenge we have with the policy is the geometric increase in prices. From example, there is a chat in which Customs are issuing values manually before now. Like what they explained to us they have to repeat the same chat into the system with where your VIN number to generate what you are suppose to pay as taxes to the government.
But there are two constraints in the system.
“One is when you input your VIN number into the system, what the system is generating is about 200 per cent compare to what agents are having before.
We have a case we forwarded to PTML management team. A 2011 Sequial in the VIn Valuation chat, they recorded about $24,000 and we found that the chat has been there from 2014 to 2019.
“The question we are asking is if in 2014 for example, you inputted $24,000, then the same car in 2022, eight years after is still bearing $24,000. That means something is wrong somewhere. Customs has a law biding them and one of the laws is legal notice 30 that gives us that for 5 years old car, a 50 per cent rebate, for cars within three months, attract 10 per cent rebate and for cars within one to two years, also attract 20 per cent rebate.
“And if you are looking at 2014 is $24,000 that means by 2022 of depreciation wear and tear, the price suppose to come down not still remaining static. We are now saying if actually you inputted $24,000, how did you come about the $24,000? Currently, the price of that car is about $11,00 not even minding removing 50 per cent,” he said.
