By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Monday bent to public outcry against the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Valuation for an imported vehicle by temporarily suspending the policy for one month and asking clearing agents to clear the backlog of trapped vehicles through manual assessment.
The suspension according to the circular dated March 7th, 2022, and tagged, ‘Approval of grace period, To Clear Backlog Of Vehicles’ begins from Tuesday, March 8th, 2022.
The policy, however, led to an impasse between licenced Customs Agents and the service had led to the shutdown of port activities for the past two weeks.
However, in a circular dated March 7th, 2022, with circular number, NCS/T&T/ACG/008/S.100/VOL 111, issued on Monday and exclusively obtained by Nigerian NewsDirect, the service said it has approved one month window to enable the clearing agents clear backlog of vehicles held up in the port as a result of the strike action.
The circular reads, “Sequel to the recent Customs, stakeholders town hall meeting held in Lagos on the VIN-Valuation, the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) having listened to public outcry, has graciously approved one month window to enable clearing the backlog of vehicles held up in the ports as a result of the strike action.
“Meanwhile, you are requested to ensure the uniform application of rebates for all vehicles using the correct values for your assessments. The VIN-Valuation protocol is still in operation as reviews and updates are being captured in our system to reflect these adjustments.”
The circular signed by H.K Gummi, Assistant Comptroller General for the Deputy Director-General, directed the affected area controllers to monitor the transition period and ensure manual assessments are in compliance with extant laws of the hand.
The letter said, “Area Controllers are expected to monitor this transition period and ensure manual assessments are in full compliance with extant laws. This grace period is for one month, beginning from Tuesday, 8 Mar. 22.
“You are to bring the contents of this circular to your Officers and the General public for their information and guidance, please,” he said.