Only items imported by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are exempted from the payment of duties or taxes.

This was confirmed by Mr Timi Bomodi, Deputy National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, in Abuja, on Friday.

The statement by Bomodi said:

“We wish to reiterate that by law, only items imported by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are exempted from the payment of duties or taxes.”

Bomodi explained that government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were expected to pay duties on vehicles or other items they imported, except where waivers and concessions were sought and granted.

The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a trend in the activities of certain Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with regards to their import of vehicles and other equipment.

“The NCS wishes to state that except where waivers or concessions were sought and granted, all outstanding duties and taxes relating to such imports are expected to be paid in full.

“This applies even in situations where these imports were executed by agents or proxies on their behalf.

“The NCS is, therefore, by this notice sensitising MDAs and advising them on the need to adhere strictly with import guidelines in this regard”, he said.

Bomodi further explained that contractors, who import and supply such equipment or vehicles without payment of duties, would be considered liable as fraudulent importers.

“We urge them to avail themselves of our trade facilitation tools available on and offline. This is necessary to avoid embarrassments in the future”, he added.