Prices of imported vehicles and other goods may go up very soon as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) increased its official exchange rate for cargo importation from $409 to $422.3, Blueprint gas gathered.
Before now, an exchange rate of $409 was used by Customs to calculate the 35 per cent cost of buying a vehicle as the amount to be paid by an importer.
But that calculation has changed to $422.3 ×35 per cent. This is outside other charges to be paid to the government, terminal operators and shipping firms before an imported vehicle can exit the port.
The NCS collects 20 per cent duty and 15 per cent levy on every imported vehicle. That makes the amount payable to the government as 35 per cent of the cost of the vehicle from abroad.
According to stakeholders, the increase would lead to a geometric increase in the cost of clearing vehicles and other goods at the nation’s seaports.
One of the stakeholders who is also a former President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA), Prince Olayiwola Shitu, said there was noise in the port over the sudden increase.
“We are hearing today that Customs has increased its exchange rate from $409 to $422.3. And you will not know until you put in your documents and it will be calibrated.
