Vehicle Importers Rush to Beat December 31 Deadline

As the December 31, 2016 import restriction order of vehicles through the land border draws close, importers now import between 100 and 150 vehicles daily as against the 20 or 30 vehicles imported daily before the order.

According to the Customs Area Controller of Seme Border, Mr Victor Dimka, importers are hurrying to push in their vehicles to beat the due date.

Dimka said that customs has also increased vigilance at the border to ensure that after the deadline no vehicle would be allowed to enter the country. Also, he said that the total ban on imported rice is very effective and that customs would ensure that Nigeria was free of  imported rice.
Review that early this month, the spokesman of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Wale Adeniyi, announced the prohibition order in Abuja, saying that the step was sequel to a presidential directive restricting all vehicle imports to Nigerian seaports only.

“The restriction on importation of vehicles follows that of rice, whose imports have been banned through the land borders since April 2016. Importers of vehicles through the land borders are requested to utilise the grace period up till December 31, 2016 to clear their vehicle imports landed in neighboring ports,” Adeniyi stated.

Typically, the frieght forwarders under the canopy of Save Nigerian Freight Forwarders (SNFF), hailed the policy, describing it as a timely intervention to save the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) companies whose business fortunes have dwindled.

The National Coordinator of the group, Chief Osita Patrick Chukwu, said the decision of the government to ban the importation of all types of new and used vehicles through the land border was timely.

As indicated by him, the ban will create employments for Nigerians and revive some ports that are redundant. He said that the individuals who bring vehicles from land borders are saboteurs.

“But the government should go further to reduce the tariff and make the importation competitive among the West African countries.”

It will create employment and revive some ports already rendered redundant due to inactivity. The companies which import vehicles through the sea have been rendered redundant because of the importation through the land border. We welcome the announcement whole-heartedly. Government has been losing revenue via land borders because they don’t pay full duties and most of the vehicles are smuggled. But with this, it’ll help a great deal,”  he said.

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