More than 90 percentage of cars available in the country, Nigeria were products of smugglers work, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hammed Ali (rtd) disclosed.
Customs boss made this revelation while speaking with reporters in Abuja and also stated that the country needs revenue for development and the raids carried out at various dealer shops were to ascertain whether the vehicles were brought in through legal means.
He further said that the Nigeria customs is looking for revenue from everywhere and people who bring vehicles into the country without paying necessray duties or collecting necessary papers are moving around the country.
“We want to use this opportunity to ensure that cars within our borders are fully customised, which means duties are paid on them.
”We are looking for revenue from everywhere and we have these people who brought in vehicles and failed to pay duties.
“What we are doing now, we are just enforcing the law, which allows us to collect revenue on behalf of Nigeria and also ensure those vehicles you and I will go and buy have genuine papers that are roadworthy.
“If you meet our officers on the road and they ask for the papers, if they discover you have not paid your duties, they will seize the vehicles.
“We are doing all these to save car buyers from running into trouble,” he explained.
He also said that Custom officials will be mounting road blocks to ensure the import duties are paid on time.
“The law allows us to stop you and ask for the car papers, if your papers are intact, we thank you and bless you, if it is otherwise, we will ask you to pay the duties.
“If we find out you are not a smuggler, you are just an innocent buyer, we will value the car and ask you to pay the required duties on the car and you will be freed,” he said.
