The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Customs Service have taken the ongoing foreign exchange reforms to the maritime sector with a 40 per cent increase in the exchange rate used for calculating import duty.
The NCS at the weekend raised the exchange rate used for the calculation of import duty from N422.30/dollar to N589/dollar.
The development, which has led to a corresponding 40 per cent increase in import duty on imported cargoes including vehicles, has angered operators in the maritime sector with clearing agents, freight forwarders, and importers calling for an immediate reversal of the policy.
Stakeholders said the policy would lead to job losses in the maritime sector and a drastic fall in the number of imported vehicles.
This, they said, could affect business and economic growth. Economists also said the government was insensitive, saying the policy was capable of affecting Nigerians negatively.
The development came barely one month after the Federal Government removed fuel subsidy and floated the naira. It also came at a time Discos began a gradual increase of their tariff.
The National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, who confirmed the new exchange rate on its portal, said the agency was only implementing a CBN policy.
He said, “Whatever you see in our system is what has been communicated to us. It is determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria. So whatever we are using is what is obtainable as communicated to us. It is a monetary policy, we only implement what is given to us. It is a monetary policy and anything monetary is not determined by us, it is determined by the CBN. We only use what is communicated to us.”
Also confirming the development, the Youth Leader of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, at Tin Can Island, Remilekun Sikiru, said that the new rate had been effected on the Customs portal.
Sikiru, also the CEO of Siktemstar Logistics, said that the customs duty payable on vehicles had increased astronomically.
He said, “For instance, the total duty payable on a Toyota Camry was N901,000 before now; but it has been increased to N1,270m; duty payable on Venza was N1.632m before now, but it has been increased to N2.278m. In the same vein, Toyota Corolla was N786,000, but now it has been increased to N1.097m while Lexus Rx which used to cost N1,828,000 now costs N2,550,447.”
He added, “It’s pathetic. We woke up to see this in the early hour on Saturday 24th of June 2022. The Federal Government needs to reverse this.”