By Mike Adeyemi
Motor Dealers in Kwara State have debunked the alleged removal of car duty by the Federal Government. They claimed that dealers in Nigeria pay highest duties on vehicles in West Africa.
In a chat with National Pilot, the Chairman of Haksat Motors, Alhaji Abdulamid Yusuf said Nigerian government hasn’t been fair to motor dealers in the country.
“As of today, there is no much difference with what we use to pay. Or perhaps the Customs operatives have not been alive to their duty.
“The price we paid for duty remains the same. Since the announcement by the minister of finance, we haven’t seen changes, ” he further said.
Yusuf added that dealers in this part of the world pay more on duties compared to their counterparts in other neighbouring countries in West Africa.
“The vehicle duty is too exorbitant in Nigeria compared to other countries in West Africa. Prior now, we used to pay N1500,000 on car duty, but it has increased to N600,000.
“It is like we are working for the government. Many dealers in Kwara have closed shops and some have gone bankrupt over these charges. It is appalling that the National Assembly that should do the needful on this are looking the other way, ” Yusuf lamented.
Similarly, a dealer in the state, Tunde Alawonla attributed the problem of dealers in the country to lack of direct link between the car dealers and the Nigerian Customs Service.
“The duty has remained the same. The problem that we, dealers face is that there is no direct link with the Customs. Before now, there used to be specific amounts paid as duty. That stopped since the closure of borders.
“Intermediaries create bottlenecks. The agents dominate the market. We still pay the same amount on car duty, ” Alawonla affirmed.
Recall that the Federal Government last week disclosed that it has taken immediate steps to address the issue of inflation in the economy through reduction of import duties on commodities affecting food and transportation.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, made this known while answering reporters’ questions after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, explained that the finance Bill 2021, which was sent to the National Assembly for passage by President Muhammadu Buhari, is designed to cut some import duties on some commodities, including vehicles.
Shedding light on government’s plan to fight inflation, the minister said the two main target of the plan are the food and transportation sectors, saying government intends to make transportation affordable, thereby reducing the harsh conditions that had made food in inflation factor.
She said: “Inflation is high at 16.7 per cent and we’ve seen inflation inching up gradually over the last couple of months. So the question that was raised on the issue of reduction of import duties, the simple response is it’s not effective.
“So when the bill is passed, first of all, we’ll have to wait for the bill to be conveyed to the President and then it’s conveyed to us and then we’ll convey it to the various agencies that have different roles to play and then they review the bill to roll out guidelines and directives for implementation.”
“The Nigerian Customs Service has done that guidelines and have conveyed to all for implementation,” she said.