Car Import Tariff Contributes Over 50% Revenue At Seme Border Customs Command

Tariffs imposed on imported automobiles contributed over 50 per cent of revenue generated by the Seme Border Command of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, in 2015.

The command’s public relations officer, Mr Selechang Taupyen, who confirmed this, said that the vehicle transit scheme has begun to yield positive results.

Speaking with journalists at the command’s headquarters at Seme Border recently, Taupyen also attributed the high vehicular collections to the synergy and a memorandum of understanding signed between the NCS and Benin Republic Customs, saying that they are responsible for stemming the tide of smuggling activities within the frontiers.

According to him, the customs from the neighbouring country hands over imported vehicles to the NCS and the process of clearing such commodities commences afterwards. This, he said, is a typical element of the vehicle transit scheme which started in 2014. He explained that the NCS and its counterpart in Benin Republic have a good working relationship which ensures that vehicles coming from neighbouring countries are handed over properly for duty to be duly collected for the Nigerian government.

“For last year, the duty collections on vehicles alone was over 50 per cent of the entire revenue generated from the Seme Border Customs Area Command. I think that the collaboration is helping a great deal. It is especially helping us to actualise our vision and that was the reason the new customs area controller did not waste time in extending a hand of fellowship,” he said.