The federal government has imposed an additional N6,000 on all vehicles imported into the country through the implementation of the National Vehicle Registration Policy (VREG).
The Federal Ministry of Finance who is the driver of the policy on behalf of the government kick-started the project last Monday at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.
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The government had in August 2020, commenced moves to create a National Vehicle Registration (VREG), which is an information system to curb evasion of duty payment on imported vehicles and eliminate the sale of stolen, accident-wrecked and unsafe vehicles from the market.
Reacting to the imposition of fresh charges on imported second-hand vehicles, customs licensed clearing agents are of the option that the move would further jack up the prices of vehicles in the market.
The Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Clearing Agents (ANLCA), Tin-Can Island Chapter, Comrade Onome Joy Monije, said the amount charged under the VREG policy varies from one vehicle to another, depending on the model and year of manufacture.
Monije noted that the amount is an additional charge imposed on vehicles by the federal government, aside from the normal value charge on imported vehicles by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which is the agency in charge of revenue collection.
Another agent, Abdul Subaru, is of the view that the implementation of the policy should be suspended until January 2022 to enable importers to utilise their respective loans without additional unplanned financial burdens.
The Public Relations Officer of the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC), Uche Ejesieme listed some of the benefits of the VREG to the customs service, including putting an end to controversies overvaluation of vehicles.
