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By Steve Agbota
The former acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, has called on the Federal Government to review the incentives given to Nigerian auto assemblers in the country.
Farinto who spoke with Daily Sun during a telephone interview, also urged Federal Government to review the auto policy on imported used vehicles (Tokunbo) from 12 years to 15 years, saying that only few Nigerians that can afford the 12 years vehicles that are allowed to come in.
Recall that the automobile policy was introduced in October 2013 to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles and discourage importation of cars as well as gradually phase out used cars (popularly known as Tokunbo cars).
The policy makes provision for commercial vehicles to attract 35 per cent duty without a levy.
Also, the Federal Government gave incentives of zero percent, five per cent, and 10 per cent respectively to assemble plants who imported completely knocked down parts (CKD), semi knocked down parts I (SKDI) and semi-knocked down parts II (SKDII) to be used by local assembly plants attract.
Assembly plants importing the Fully Built Units (FBU), for cars pay 35 percent duty without a levy, whereas commercial vehicles attract 20 percent duty without a levy, in numbers equal to twice their imported CKD/SKD kits.
However, stakeholders have identified abuse in the incentives given to assemble plants, which is one of the reasons calling for the review of the policy.
Meanwhile, Farinto said a review of the incentives given to Nigerian auto assemblers is necessary in order to know what the assemblers have generated into the economy and what Nigeria has lost to them in the last four years.
“If I’m singularly given an opportunity to do that, Nigerians will be amazed with the discovery. A lot of them so called auto assemblers are only making more money and the Federal Government is not making money. And these are the things that should ordinarily generate money into Federation’s account,” he added
He also urged Federal Government to look at various ways of double taxation, adding that the way Value Added Tax (VAT) is calculated is very wrong and it is double taxation.
“We are subjecting tax to taxes. The anaconda payment of 7 per cent of port levy or port development levy should be abrogated because is no more relevant to what is happening in the industry.
“There are others small charges that they are slamming on the industry. For instance, before you clear your vehicle, you go through their portal and pay a lot of money. The minimum is N6000. Customs should be able to give us data in the next one year. If we remove all these small payments, it will go a long way,” he explained.
