Duties will be paid on luggage worth more than N50,000 - Customs reminds passengers

- The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said passengers passing through the nation’s international airports will pay for items worth more than N50,000

- DC Joseph Attah, the NCS spokesperson, said only items below N50,000 are duty-free

- The spokesperson also clarified the claim of an unnamed lady about being ill-treated at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport

Passengers passing through any of Nigeria’s international airports will pay duties for goods or items that are worth more than N50,000, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said.

According to the NCS, only goods or items below N50,000 will be allowed for passengers to carry without having to pay any duty, Vanguard reports.

The spokesperson of the agency, DC Joseph Attah, said the customs is aware that many Nigerians have been complaining about the N50,000 benchmark.

Attah, however, said the agency has no other option but to continue enforce the law until it is changed by the lawmakers.

“Anything more than the approved value (N50,000) is considered Merchandise in Baggage and therefore liable for duty payment,” the NCS spokesperson said.

Attah also dismissed the allegations of an unnamed lady who reportedly accused the operatives of the NCS at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport of ill-treating her because of her gender and tribe.

Describing the allegation as false, Attah said the woman, upon search, was found to be carrying a bag valued at N570,467.40k and was asked to pay “appropriate duty assessment of N165, 692.25k”.

The spokesperson added that the custom operatives, however, told the woman the bag would be ‘detained’ pending the time she pays the appropriate duty.

Attah said the woman, however, took to social media to accuse the operatives of ill-treating her based on her tribe and gender, despite the fact that what transpired clearly had to do with the payment of appropriate duties.

Charges and taxes in Nigeria

Nigeria’s finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, recently said Nigeria’s current fiscal problem has to do with revenue generation. Simply put, Nigeria is not generating enough revenues as it is supposed to, the minister said.

This has made the government to come up with some measures which include, increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to over 7% and imposing charges on bank deposits.

The government is also considering returning toll gates charges on Nigerian federal roads.

President Muhammadu Buhari has also warned all the revenue-generating agencies of consequences if they fail to meet their targets.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the NCS had given an opportunity to vehicle importers, owners and organised vehicle dealers to pay customs duty on smuggled, undervalued vehicles in the country.

The area controller, Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Comptroller Muhammed Aliyu, told the journalists on Wednesday, October 23, that customs opened the platform to allow Nigerians who own smuggled or undervalued vehicles to regularise their customs duty.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better.

Border closure: Nigerians now prefer eba to rice – traders lament | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng