TheCable

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says only items imported by the president are exempted from duty charges and tax payment.

Timi Bomodi, NCS deputy national public relations officer, said this in a statement on Friday.

Bomodi said this while raising the alarm that some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) at different levels of government are evading duties and taxes on imported vehicles and other equipment into the country.

“The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a trend in the activities of certain Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with regards to their import of vehicles and other equipment,” he said.

“The NCS wishes to state that except where waivers or concessions were sought and granted, all outstanding duties and taxes relating to such imports are expected to be paid in full.

“This applies even in situations where these imports were executed by agents or proxies on their behalf.

“We wish to reiterate that by law, only items imported by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are exempted from the payment of duties or taxes.

“The NCS is, therefore, by this notice sensitising MDAs and advising them on the need to adhere strictly with import guidelines in this regard.”

Bomodi warned contractors who import and supply such equipment or vehicles without payment of duties to desist from the practice as it will be considered liable as fraudulent importers.

“We urge them to avail themselves of our trade facilitation tools available on and offline. This is necessary to avoid embarrassments in future”, he added.