The House of Representatives has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to streamline its Vehicle Identification Number, VIN valuation system or risk the suspension of the exercise.
The House of Reps Committee on Customs and Excise made this known while on an oversight visit to the site in Maitama.
It also expressed dismay at the dismal level of work achieved by the contractor handling the permanent site of the agency in Abuja.
Chairman, House Committee on Customs, Leke Abejide, stated that the committee had noticed how the stalemate over VIN valuation was pitting the Service against importers, license agents, and other players operating at the nation’s ports.
Customs uses the VIN system to collect duty on automobiles imported into the nation depending on the year of manufacture.
The committee’s report, submitted by Chairman Leke Abejide, was based on observations and discussions with customs officials in Zone A, Lagos, during oversight trips to the zone’s several commands.
Some of the issues mentioned included a lack of functional scanners, a scarcity of officials to staff the Free Trade Zones, and an epileptic power supply.
The comptroller general, Hameed Ali claimed that the Service is in discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria to acquire more than one hundred scanners needed for optimal functioning.
The committee said the bill to repeal the 63-year old customs and excise management act and replace it with a more formidable law will be signed soon by President Muhammadu Buhari in the nation’s bid to transform the service’s operations and increase revenue generation.
