The federal government has slashed in half its Customs duties on imported new and used vehicles to cushion the introduction of a new “green tax surcharge” on the fuel-heavy types.
On Monday, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced that import levies on brand-new vehicles will be reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent while import duties on used vehicles, or Tokunbo, will be cut from 15 percent to five percent.
The directive, issued by the Ministry of Finance, accompanies earlier plans to introduce a Green Tax Surcharge on imported vehicles with large-capacity engines from July 1 to lower carbon emissions.
Imported vehicles with an engine size of 2,000 cubic centimetres (cc) to 3,999cc (engines of 2.0 to 3.9 liters) are subject to a two percent levy while vehicles with an engine size of 4,000cc and above are subject to a four percent levy.
“This policy excludes mass transit buses, electric vehicles (EVs), and locally manufactured vehicles are excluded from this green charge surcharge. The vehicles that are to pay are those that are above 2,000cc,” Abdulahi Maiwada, national public relations officer of the Service, told BusinessDay.
