NAN-HE-19
Customs
By Aminu Ahmed Garko
Minna, Aug. 17, 2017 (NAN) Alhaji Muktari Mapia, the North West Chairman of Auto Dealers Association of Nigeria, on Thursday urged the Nigeria Customs Service to register vehicles brought into the country by members before the ban on their importation through land borders.
Mapia said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna that a lot of dealers who had such vehicles, were denied registration by the service long before the closure of the borders.
The Federal Government banned the importation of vehicles through the land borders in December 2016.
“We are law abiding citizens ready to obey the law of the land, but the Nigeria Customs Service is not helping our members.
“All vehicles displayed for sale were imported through the land borders before the prohibition of their importation.
“We approached the Nigeria Customs Service to clear our vehicles but they denied us,” he claimed.
He said that the vehicles had been trapped at various sales points because the clearing agents were denied the chance to pay the necessary duties.
Mafia urged the Federal Government to intervene, so as not to encourage smuggling.
According to him, government is losing a lot of revenues due to the policy and it should be reviewed.
A top official of the NCS, however, told NAN that the service was aware of the issues at stake and would soon take a decision on the matter. (NAN)
AAG/IA
(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)