By Chiazo Ogbolu
The Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) says it is not backing down on its protest over the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) policy, until the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) heeds its requests.
Alhaji Rilwan Amuni, the Task Force Chairman of ANLCA, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, as their protest entered the second day.
NAN reports that clearing agents had on Monday, Feb. 21, staged a protest at the Lagos ports, specifically the Tin-Can Island Port and PTML Terminal, over the VIN valuation system introduced by the NCS for imported vehicles.
The protest, which crippled economic activities at the two ports, took place after the expiration of the 72 hours strike notice issued by all registered freight forwarding associations operating at the two terminals in Lagos.
The notice was issued last week to the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, over what they termed as anomalies surrounding the VIN valuation system.
“Today, Tuesday, is our second day of protest and we will continue the protest until the NCS authorities tell us what we want to hear from them.
“We are not saying that the policy is bad, but the implementation is our problem.
“A vehicle duty that we pay N200, 000 before, we now pay N1 million because of the policy, that is not right, they should go back to the status quo,” Amuni said.
Earlier, Deputy Comptroller Timi Bomodi, the National Public Relations Officer, NCS, noted that agents and importers protesting the introduction of the VIN Valuation did not care about automation, simplification, harmonisation or even a transparent system.
Bomodi, in a statement, said that the protesters did not care about the wellbeing of the country or the industry they claimed to represent.
“All they care about are the personal benefits accruable from milking the system. They want to pay as little import duty as possible and keep the chunk of the monies for themselves.
“These persons advocate chaos rather than order. They thrive in a wheeling and dealing environment, where the price of everything is negotiable,” he said.
Bomodi noted that the NCS, under the able leadership of retired Col. Hameed Ali, was poised to rewrite history by reinventing Customs operations in its entirety.
He said that the vision of the administration was to create an environment conducive for facilitating trade that was consistent and predictable with little to no human interference.
“VIN valuation is only one in a series of innovations designed for this purpose. The earlier agents and importers come to terms with this reality, the better it will be for everyone,” Bomodi said.
The customs spokesman urged well-meaning Nigerians to embrace the electronic services being put at their disposal.
He stressed that importers who had valid Tax Identity Numbers (TIN) could do self-assessment and pay duty by themselves.
Bomodi urged the agents to understand that this was a digital system, and its parameters were not dictated by customs, but were simply drawn from live data across markets the world over.
He implored licensed customs agents to also be honest in their declarations, saying it would go a long way in expediting the release of their goods out of customs control. (NAN)
