dillinger:
Please house, how much would it cost to clear a 2008 Honda Accord? Don't wanna underpay government o

450k

MrMcJay:
Sometime ago, a clearing agent boasted here on Nairaland that he helps people bring vehicles in from Cotonou and register them at the Tincan Ports in Lagos despite the fact that land borders have been closed by the Nigerian Customs to vehicle importation. When we asked him how he'll do it, he said he has his way of doing it.

That day, I made this comment below:



Just yesterday, a Nairalander opened the thread below:
https://www.nairaland.com/4737275/muscle-camry-almost-got-impounded




What made me open this thread was an incident that happened to a friend a few weeks ago. He bought a Tokunbo Venza from an auto dealer here in Nigeria. Before buying, he conducted due-diligence at the customs desk and it checked out.

After using it for about a year, he resold it to another buyer. The second buyer also conducted due-diligence at the customs desk and it also checked out.

While on Badagry Road, customs officers stopped him and after inspecting his papers, they impounded the vehicle. The buyer was confident to take on them because he had Customs Papers which checked out as at when he bought.

When he got to the office, the Customs guys explained what happened.

1. The agent who cleared the vehicle attached the details of the vehicle to a Container coming into Nigeria as if the vehicle was part of the cargo into Nigeria.

2. The Origin of the container was China and it was carrying industrial parts.

3. The dealership that sold the vehicle was in Texas, America.

4. They traced the details of the vehicle and discovered that it sailed from Houston to Porto Novo in Republic of Benin.

5. Last recorded Port was in Benin Republic before it miraculously appeared in a container coming from China to be cleared in Lagos.

6. There is no legal way that vehicle could have gotten to Nigeria from Cotonou.

7. In Lagos Port, the agent underpaid the value of the car but somehow got the customs papers.





The reason for this epistle is to provide information to prevent innocent Nairalanders from falling into this crime perpetrated by fraudulent agents and their allies.

1. Is there a way an innocent buyer can avoid falling into this problem?

2. Is there a particular Customs office buyers can go to physically verify that not only were the proper duties paid, but correct information given?

3. If you pay and customs officers collude with unscrupulous agents to defraud Nigerians, is there an official mechanism to get redress for the innocent buyer?

4. Is there an avenue for innocent buyers to pay unpaid customs fees over sized vehicles and ensure they are released?

5. For vehicles bought brand new in Nigeria and receipts issued by dealers, is there a way to verify duties were paid on those vehicles?





This is a kind of self-help thread since there's hardly information on these anywhere and the customs guys don't care.

Comments are welcome.


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I've a topic that has been online for a couple of days but to my dismay, no one has come out to say he or she has a car with no duty on it..... Why, you may ask...... It's just because they know that link will make them pay the full duty meant to be paid... They keep searching around for loopholes in the process and at the end, they'll come to nairaland to star ranting about how customs impounded their cars.....

https://www.nairaland.com/4826246/attn-all-car-owners-no

@MrMCJay
Unfortunately, really don't know that much about importing cars to Naija.
Thanks for the mention. Learnt a lot from this thread.