The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hameed Ali, has called on the Federal Government to reintroduce import tax on petroleum products as well as vehicles imported into the country to meet with align with global best practices.
Hameed who disclosed this while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs, said that the tax was being practised in about 36 countries at the rate of about $2.24 per gallon.
Speaking further on taxes in general, Ali said that a proposal had been drafted and sent to the Finance Minister on the consideration for a downward review of vehicle tariff.
The customs also proposed that the import duty on imported vehicles should remain 35 per cent while the levy should be reduced from the current 35 per cent to between 5 and 10 per cent.
The implication of bringing back such tax is that the prices of petroleum products are likely to be increased because prior to the suspension of import tax on petroleum products in 2004, a tax of N1.50 was paid by fuel importers on a litre of any petroleum product.
The additional tax, Blueprint gathered is going to be shifted to the consumers who are already lamenting the present prices of the various petroleum products as well as new vehicles in the country.
