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Don’t increase import duties – NAGAFF pleads

Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali

Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) on Saturday called on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) not to contemplate any further hike in import duties.

The National Publicity Secretary of the association, Mr Stanley Ezenga, made the call in an interview in Lagos.

He was reacting to media reports that the Customs was planning another 10 percent increase in import duties shortly after it hiked duties by 43 percent recently.

In a recent circular, the Nigeria Customs Service had directed the 43 percent hike in duties in line with government`s adoption of the flexible foreign exchange regime.

Ezenga said, “Just recently, the Customs increased the import duties based on the argument that that they could no longer operate the fixed N197 to $1 following the government`s adoption of the new forex policy.

“We all saw how the hike greatly affected importation and how those engaged in the business of importation are finding it hard to operate and how the increase jerked up prices of everything.

“Now, we hear of plans to hike duties by additional 10 percent because of further slide in the value of the naira. I want to believe this is not true and I hope they have not commenced implementation already.

“If the hike comes to force, what it means is that the problem of low import volume will be worse; importation will be discouraged totally and freight forwarders and shippers will be idle.

“Also it will worsen the country`s double-digit inflation rate as the prices of everything would further go up, leading to more suffering in the land.

“The position of NAGAFF on this issue is clear: The planned hike is inhuman and if they are already at the verge of implementation, they should reverse immediately, “ he said.

Ezenga said what Nigerians needed at these challenging times was palliatives to cushion the effects of the harsh economic realities and not what would further impoverish them.

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