The Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited has attributed the 60% decline in vehicle importation in the first half of 2024 to hefty import duties and levies on used automobiles.
The PTML’s General Manager, Mr Tunde Keshinro, revealed a document showing that car importation fell from 45,000 units in the first half of 2023 to 18,000 units in the same period this year, according to The PUNCH.
PTML is Nigeria’s leading roll-on-roll-off facility, handling 60–70% of automobiles imported into the country.
Keshinro blamed the reduction on the implementation of import tariffs on imported autos.
He said “This unprecedented decline in the volume of used vehicles importation into Nigeria can be located around high import duty and taxes for used vehicles, imposition of import levy on used vehicles, restriction of rebate on ex-factory prices used for assessment of import duty to 10 years whereas the law allows importation of 12-year old vehicles.
“Vehicles above 10 years of age are forced to pay higher import duties, and high exchange rates resulting in excessive-high landing costs above the affordable level for the majority of Nigerians, who depend on private vehicles for private and commercial transportation. These are some of the reasons there was a drop.”
Recall in a chat with Arise Television, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi said that vehicle importation dropped by 45 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 due to the forex crisis.
Adeniyi stated that the period was critical for Nigerians and businesses in general due to the volatility in exchange rates.
“It affected car dealers. I mean, we had as much as a 45 per cent decrease in the volume of cars that were brought into Nigeria in that period.
“And they were not the kind of cars that fetched optimum revenue for the customs. Not only cars but even regular imports were also affected because people could no longer import raw materials as they wanted and the volatility did not allow them to plan for tomorrow,” he said.
A former PTML Chapter Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Samuel Obey, added, “The reason is because of the fluctuation in the exchange rate. The policy the government brought is the reason for that. The policy is that for example, if you bring a car of 2009, you have to pay the duty of 2015.”
