Customs confirms plan to auction 7,000 uncleared vehicles in Lagos ports 

The Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS), has said thousands of uncleared imported vehicles in Lagos State may be auctioned if the owners fail to comply with the newly introduced Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) valuation policy.

Importers have been shying away from clearing imported vehicles over the new controversial policy that has made clearing vehicles too expensive.

The NCS Area Comptroller of Ports Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML), Festus Oyedele Okun, put the number of the vehicles manufactured before 2013 at 7,000. “We have about 7,000 vehicles at the ports. They are mainly vehicles manufactured before 2013″, he said.

NCS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Tin-Can Island Port, Uche Ejesieme, told newsmen that the vehicles would be moved from the ports and bonded terminals to the government warehouse in Ikorodu for auctioning, if their importers fail to pay the right duties as required by the VIN after 90 days.

He explained that the movement of the vehicles will begin once the terminal operators generate Uncleared Cargo Lists (UCL) to enable the NCS to declare the overtime cargoes.

Ejesieme explained that the Service needed space inside the ports to facilitate legitimate business.

“We hope the owners will come and clear them before they would be declared as overtime cargoes. Once we do that, the vehicles will be moved to the designated terminal in Ikorodu where they will be auctioned to members of the public when the government decides”, he stated.

The Federal Government has been losing huge revenue over time, as importers had resorted to shipping their vehicles to neighbouring countries, especially the Benin Republic, as a result of the controversial VIN.

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