From Magnus Eze, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress has described the new vehicle duty policy announced by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as illogically callous, unpopular and unrealistic.
NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, in a letter to the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), advised him to focus on capacity building, modernization of operations, use of technology, tackling massive corruption in the system and inspiration/incentivisation of officers and men in order for them to deliver on their mandate as well as meet annual targets instead of inflicting hardship on the people.
Acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah, on behalf of the Comptroller-General, had on March 2 issued a statement directing “all motor dealers and private owners” of vehicles “whose customs duty has not been paid, to do so”, between Monday, March 13th and Wednesday, April 12, 2017 as “there will be an aggressive anti-smuggling operation to seize as well as prosecute owners of such smuggled vehicles after the deadline of Wednesday 12th of April 2017”.
The statement accordingly, directed vehicle owners to Customs Zonal offices in Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Bauchi to have their vehicles certified if Customs duty has been paid on them.
The Congress noted that a state of mental siege was being created by all manner of endless verification and re-certification exercises in the country, adding that it was morally wrong to inflict on the citizenry this kind of discomfort.
NLC said even as it supported the Customs to collect revenue for the Federal Government, it advised that the unpopular plan be shelved, pointing out that lessons ought to have been learnt from the violent outcome of the brutal raids of Ota market and the ambushing and extorting of money from vehicle-owners on the high way at yuletide seasons by the NCS.
He stated that porous borders, as the Customs claimed, were no justification for these actions or proposed policy action, insisting that duties for imported vehicles were paid at the point of entry.
Wabba said: “It is logistically-callous and will create unimaginable chaos and suffering for innocent vehicle end-users. “It is self-serving and will in the end enrich unscrupulous Customs personnel who contributed in no small measure to the present situation through acts of commission or omission. It will amount to rewarding their complicity.
“It is common knowledge that duties on imported vehicles are payable at the point of entry. Subjecting vehicle end-users to this kind of trauma many of who have no hand in the importation of their vehicles is unfair and unacceptable.