By Steve Agbota
Clearing agents and stakeholders in the automotive industry have decried the National Automated Council (NAC) levy, a 15 per cent tax imposed on imported vehicles by the Federal Government and collectable by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The levy, coupled with the fluctuation of the foreign exchange policy, has been stoking fire among importers and clearing agents who are now calling for the total suspension or total scrap of the NAC levy. The NAC levy was initially introduced as a 2 per cent to bolster indigenous car manufacturing and enhancing productivity in the Nigerian vehicle assembly sector. The levy later jerked up to 15 per cent, which stakeholders described the levy as unbearable and inefficient.
The concerned stakeholders lamented that the NAC levy has added to the financial strain of Nigerians, even in the midst of fluctuating currency rates and economic uncertainty.
Speaking with Daily Sun in Apapa recently, the Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) PTML chapter, Ayokunle Sulaimon expressed dissatisfaction with the NAC levy.
He pointed out that the NAC has not contributed positively to the automobile industry and urged authorities to consider its total suspension, even as he also questioned the utilisation of the funds collected through the levy, demanding transparency and accountability.
“The NAC, by definition, is the National Automobile Commission. What brought about the National Automobile Commission by the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo was that he said they want to use it to improve that sector. They want to use it to enhance productivity in the assembly of vehicles in Nigeria and to discourage importation. You and I know the NAC levy has never added any value to that sector. We have not seen any importance of that NAC. We are not even talking about reduction yet. Let it be scrapped.
“We have not seen anything important for the purpose of that NAC. Initially, we are talking about reduction. But having gone deeply, we discovered that it plays no important role. So it should be scrapped. I stand to be corrected. People come out and tell us what NAC levy has done to us. In fact, the people taking this money definitely need to be investigated, because no one has been able to convince us. We are the payers. We pay this money. Nobody has been able to convince us that this money has been utilized judiciously. I won’t call it a scam, until the investigation proves that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Frank Ogunojemite, also called for an instant removal of the NAC levy, saying that the 15 per cent levy places an additional burden on importers, especially during a period of high inflation.
“I am in support of the instant removal of the NAC levy, because it is an additional cost to importation; inflation is almost at 30 per cent, so I will advise the government to totally suspend the NAC levy.”
Also, Tin Can Chapter Chairman of ANLCA, Ojo Akintoye, expressed concern about the impact of the fluctuating dollar on importation costs, adding that there is need for the removal of the 15 per cent levy to alleviate the pressure on businesses and importers.
“We are paying 15 per cent levy now on both used and new vehicles and to our surprise, we learned that the government is trying to remove the taxes placed on used vehicles. According to what we heard, they said the removal of the 15 per cent levy was part of the executive order of Mr. President for immediate removal.
“So for now, that we are having a fluctuation of the dollar, if this policy persists in the next few months, I am afraid what will happen to the importation of goods into the country, so if the dollar fluctuation continues like this, we will ask that the 15 per cent levy be removed,” he added.