BY BRIGHT JACOB
The Nigeria Customs Service has increased the exchange rate for cargo clearing at the port from N422.3/$ to N589.45/$, according to the exchange rate published on Customs official website.
As a result of the rise in exchange rate, importers and manufacturers bringing goods into the nation’s seaports will, going forward, be paying more as import duty tariff following the addition of N167.15 to any one dollar of the total amount used to calculate duty.
Using an imported vehicle as an example, an importer of the vehicle is meant to pay 20 percent import duty and 20 percent levy, amounting to 40 percent of the total value of the vehicle.
To determine the dollar value of the car, Customs will automatically generate the value on the Vehicle Identification Number Valuation system using the chassis number of the vehicle in question.
For instance, if the VIN-Valuation system gives a $10,000 value to the car in question, the importer will be required to pay 40 percent of that $10,000 as import duty and levy.
To get the estimated duty to pay to Customs which in most cases is referred to as the surface value, the dollar value of that $10,000 will be converted to naira using the Customs exchange rate of N589.45/$ after which the 40 percent will be paid as duty and levy.
In addition, the importer is also expected to pay for VAT, surcharge, ECOWAS Tax Liberalization Scheme, terminal charges, shipping charges, and clearing charges to Customs Licensed Agents.
Speaking on the impact of higher exchange rate on cargo clearance at the port, Tony Anakebe, a Licensed Customs Agent, lamented that the implication of tariff paid on goods will become enormous as importers will be paying more as Customs tariff.
“If an importer had paid N1.2 million to clear a 2012 model of vehicle when the exchange rate was at N422.3/$, such a person should be prepared to pay about N1.5 million or more while importers of 20-foot and 40-foot containers that used to pay duties of about N3 million and N5 million respectively, should also be prepared to pay more going forward depending on the nature of the goods,” he said.
Anakebe said that Nigerians were crying over high prices of goods at the market, adding that the new development will further drive inflation high as the importer will always peg the price of the finished goods to cover all the costs.
On the impact of naira devaluation and high exchange rates on the value of auto products in Nigeria, Aissatou Diouf, general manager of Suzuki by CFAO, told journalists on Friday that the market prices of cars would continue to go up as long as the exchange rates keep increasing.
She confirmed that Nigeria Customs has adjusted its exchange rate for paying tariffs to almost N600/$.
