Import Duty: Southeast Traders Berate Nigeria Customs Service Over New Increment
- Igbo traders have accused the Nigerian Customs Service of causing untold hardship on them due to a new price regime
- According to the traders, the recent policy is stifling and strangulating their ability to properly import goods into the country
- They asked the federal government to intervene in the situation, warning that failure to do will have an adverse effect on the Nigerian economy
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Enugu - South-East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association (SEAMATA), has criticised and rejected the recent increment in the import duty on cargoes charged by Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
Source: Facebook
In a statement jointly signed by SEAMATA’s President General, Chief Gozie Akudolu, and Secretary General, Mr Alex Okwudiri, and seen by Legit.ng on Monday, November 29, the group said that the NCS introduced a method of working out import duty payment on goods and set out a particular minimum amount payable for each 40-ft container.
The statement reads in part:
“Between 2020 and now, the amount charged on cargoes as import duties has risen in geometric proportion from N750,000 to N2 million, again to N3 million and currently, to N3.3 million for 40-ft containers; while 20-ft containers jumped to N1.8 million.
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“This development is not only bringing untold hardships to importers but is also compounding the pains of the citizens as it dovetails to astronomical increase in prices of imported goods.
“The indiscriminate estimate of value of goods by Nigerian Customs is adversely affecting the prices of goods in the markets today, both imported and locally-produced as it triggers a chain reaction.”
Customs Agents Lament Over New Import Duty
Similarly, representatives of importers under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has blamed the drop in level of import into the country to the rising cost of duty slammed on import units of cargoes by the NCS.
The Nigerian Tribune newspaper reports that the national president of the association, Tony Iju, explained that the recent jer*king up of duty on 40 feet containers by the Customs to N3 million has worsened the hardship being experienced by importers at the nation’s ports.
Price of Pure Water Could Increase From N20 To N50, Says Manufacturers
In a related development, Water Producers Association of Nigeria (WAPAN) has stated that the price of ‘pure water’ could rise from the present N20 to about N50 per sachet if the federal government implements the proposed Excise Duty on carbonated beverages.
This was disclosed by the National President of WAPAN, Eneri Odiri Jackson at an event in Lagos state recently.
Nigerians have witnessed sachet of water rise three times within the year from N5 to N10 and to N20.
Soft Drinks to Get More Expensive
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the NCS has been lobbying for the reinstatement of excise duty on soft drinks, which was repealed in 1993.
The return of excise duty, according to Customs service, would result in a large increase in income for the federal government.
But manufacturers, on the other hand, feel it will affect their revenue and lead to an increase in soft drink prices.
Source: Legit.ng
