There is no end in sight to the controversy generated by the recent reduction of tariff on vehicle import from 35 per cent to five per cent as contained in the 2020 Finance Act recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, as some stakeholders in the automotive industry have instituted a legal action to stop the implementation.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that the federal government, in the Finance Act 2020, reduced tariff on importation of Fully Built Vehicle (FBU) from 35 per cent to 5 per cent, whereas import duty for Semi Knocked Down (SKD) remains at 10 per cent.
Automotive manufacturers and other stakeholders had called for the reversal of the policy, which they said threatened over $2 billion investment in auto assembly.
To stop this, the stakeholders, under the umbrella of Incorporated Trustees of Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), and other plaintiffs, commenced litigation seeking to strike down Section 38 of the Finance Act 2020, which gives legal backing to the policy.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/157/2021 and filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja, the non-governmental organisation questioned whether the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who proposed Section 38 of the Finance Bill 2020 as an executive bill complied with Section 13 (1) of the Customs and Excise Tariff Etc (Consolidated) Act before doing so.
Curtis Partners, an Abuja-based law firm which represents the plaintiffs, has since notified the federal government, National Assembly, Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service on the suit. They also applied for an interlocutory injunction while urging all parties to maintain status quo.
The case has been slated for hearing next week.
