South East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association rejects rise in import duties

MEMBERS of the South East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association (Seamata) have rejected the recent increase on the import duties on cargoes introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) describing it as exploitative.

Under Nigerian law, the NCS has the responsibility for imposing duty on imported goods and it regularly increased charges in an attempt to discourage imports and promote local production. Recently, the NCS introduced a method of working out import duty payments on goods and set out a particular minimum amount payable for each 40ft container, which Seamata said made the amounts charged too high.

Seamata, the umbrella union of traders in all the markets of the southeast geo-political zone and traders of Igbo extraction across the country and the diaspora, said the increment was not calculated based on invoice value of consignments. Chief Gozie Akudolu, the Seamata president, said the charges were aimed at crushing Igbo businesses.

Mr Akudolu said: “Between 2020 and now, the amount charged on cargoes as import duties have risen in geometric proportion from N750,000 to N2m, again to N3m and presently, to N3.3m for 40ft containers, while the price for 20ft containers jumped to N1.8m. The Nigerian Customs, on their own, work out payable import duties, based on the estimated invoice value of consignments as against the actual invoice value of goods from the country of origin.

“This development is not only bringing untold hardships to importers but also compounding the pains of the citizens as it has led to an astronomical increase in prices of imported goods as the Nigerian Customs estimated invoice value is always far above the actual cost of the imports. These indiscriminate estimates of the value of goods by Nigerian Customs is adversely affecting the prices of goods in the markets today.

“We are appealing to the honourable minister of finance to prevail on the Nigerian Customs Service to as a matter of urgency, suspend the exercise. This is to save the Nigerian citizen from further economic hardships as the pain that follow such situations could lead to social unrest, which our nation doesn’t need now.”