Key highlights
- Customs reveals it follows a standard operating procedure for auctioning of vehicles and other intercepted items.
- They added Customs does not go straight to the auction phase when they seized contraband goods, noting that the process takes time.
- Vehicles seized in contravention of the law were categorized into Spec A, Spec B, and Spec C, noting that the third category of vehicles was usually in bad condition and used mainly for smuggling.
The Nigerian Customs Service noted that it does not hold seized car auctions frequently because there are procedures for clearing items for auctioning.
This was disclosed in an interview by its Acting Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr. Abdullahi Maiwada on Sunday in Abuja.
He revealed that one of the procedures for auctioning seized vehicles is that they have to meet the required window before they are considered for auctioning.
Procedure
The Customs Chief, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), noted they adhere to the standard operating procedure for auctioning of vehicles and other intercepted items, urging that contrary to allegations in some quarters that seized vehicles were abandoned in different commands across the country, there were procedures for clearing them.
He noted that one of the procedures is that seized vehicles have to meet the required window before they are considered for auctioning, the report said:
- “Once the first requirement was met, the list of vehicles would be sent to court for condemnation.
- “Maiwada said what happens after the matter was taken to court was not within the control of the service.
- “The service had no power to auction any vehicle until the court had given the go-ahead.
Frequency
Mr. Abdullahi Maiwada added that Customs does not go straight to the auctions phase when they seized contraband goods, noting that the process takes time, he said:
- “The reason auctioning is not as frequent as people expect is that there are procedures for clearing items for auctioning.
- “We do not intercept items and go ahead to auction them.
- “It takes some time before we send them to court to be condemned for auction.”
Other reasons he cited for auctions not being frequent includes longer court processes, as Nigeria does not have specialized courts for such dealings, he added:
- ”court process takes a while because these courts handle other cases.
- “There are no specialized courts that handle the matter specifically.
- “We also ensure that seized items do not have anything to do with litigation, particularly from owners of the items before they are auctioned.”
Categories
Customs also noted that there are categories of cars that could be auctioned by the service, citing that vehicles that can be auctioned are those bought by Customs and those seized in contravention of Customs law.
Vehicles seized in contravention of the law were categorized into Spec A, Spec B, and Spec C, noting that the third category of vehicles was usually in bad condition and used mainly for smuggling, he added:
- “Spec A vehicles are allocated to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) based on Presidential directive.
- “These MDAs are expected to pay the duty payable on those vehicles so that government does not lose revenue.
- “The second category are the ones being uploaded on the e-auction platform.”
What you should know
Last year, The Nigerian Customs Service officially released a circular announcing the reduction of import duties on both used and new vehicles.
In a statement by, Timi Bomodi, Customs National Spokesman, the service said the new duty rate for both used and new vehicles is now 20% as against the 35% usually paid. The statement noted that implementation will take effect immediately.
The service revealed that on April 1, 2022, they migrated from the old version of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (2017-2021) to the new version (2022-2026).
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Custom reduced duty to 20% and one week later increased it to 40% reason many imported are not been cleared and those imployed by dealing and sales of car have lost that means of livilhood,some lost their lives some take to crime and other social vices while the top customs officers and government smile home with stolen money majority of nigerians are in pain suffering while the government looks the other way.today an average nigerians find it difficult to own a car due to high cost of vehicle. This group of people that rendered people useless will surely pay for all this act sooner or later.