Stranded Vehicles Litter Ports Over Controversial CET Levy

THOUSANDS of vehicles are currently littering the Lagos ports as a result of the brouhaha between the Customs brokers and the Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS), over the controversial 15 per cent Common External Tariff ( CET) Levy, lingers.

The abandoned vehicles are now accumulating demurrage and rents, which creates serious bottleneck to revenue collection and impediment to trade.

With the Customs changing the controversial 15 per cent National Automotive Council ( NAC) levy on motor vehicles imported into the country to 15 per cent Common External Tariff ( CET) levy, the clearing agents have abandoned vehicle clearing, describing the levy as illegal.

The clearing agents, who have threatened to shutdown activities at the Lagos ports any moment from now, decried the ‘ desperation’ of the NCS on the imposed levy.

President, National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents ( NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, in a letter to President Mohammadu Buhari, which was obtained by The Guardian, said, “the imposition of common External Tariff ( CET) levy of 15 per cent on Motor vehicles that is not backed by any law or approved in the Finance Act of 2020 and 2021 and not provided in any law of the land and assessed on motor vehicles by Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS)”.

He said: “There is no such thing as CET levy of 15 per cent either on motor vehicles or goods, the only approval is on ECOWAS trade liberalization levy ( ETLS) of 0.5 per cent, the introduction of CET levy is strange to our domestic law and the ECOWAS convention on import duties and levies assessment and collection”.

Amiwero explained: “The shifting from NAC levy of 15 per cent to CET levy of 15per cent, by the Customs contravenes the principle of World

Customs Organization WCO, Kyoto convention on the simplification and harmonization of Customs procedure, the World Trade Organization under the Agreement on Trade facilitation Agreement ( ATF) which core principle is predictability, consistency and transparency on trade information, fees and charges Imposed on in connection with importation and exportation, which create confusion and impediments,” he said.

Amiwero said many vehicles are now being abandoned at the seaports due to the confusion on levy imposition by NCS.