BELASTINGDIENST: THOUGHTS ON RETROSPECTIVE DUTY PAYMENT AND CUSTOMS CLEARANCE PAPERS
The second most important controversy of the week if I am not mistaken is the duty on vehicles imported into the country without the payment of compulsory Customs tarrif or duty by the importers either via omission or commission and connivance of Officers of the Customs Service of Nigeria, meaning that rules, regulations and laws on duty payment have been violated by individuals concern.
If we accept this statement affirmatively, then it is a given that the Customs Service of Nigeria has the right to demand payment of duty retrospectively because there is an established right on the part of the Customs Service of Nigeria and also established civic duty/responsibility on the part of the importers to pay accordingly.
Whether the goods in question are already in the market or in this case vehicles are in the showroom is irrelevant. Anyone crying foul play is ignorant and a victim of the corrupt, fraud infested society that we have created with Padi-Padi, Rigimo arrangement to issues of civic duty/responsibility in our clime.
Arguments presented by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola) to the fact that the vehicles are already in the country and question like How, What is the Customs Service doing before those vehicles or goods got into the country or the obvious fact of inefficiency in the service is never an excuse to refuse duty/tarrif payment if and when an Officer or the Customs Service of Nigeria discover such discrepancy.
This is a legal duty and a civic responsibility required of citizens despite inefficiency and mistake inherent in Customs Service of Nigeria administrative organisation. Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola), in Europe/Internationally your vehicle shall be impounded if you do not have all the required papers inclusive Customs clearance papers when/if it is an imported vehicle because absence of proper documentation is an offence punishable either by fine or imprisonment but the option of fine is always preferred.
I think it is significant at this point to illustrate my position with an anecdote to buttress my view that inefficiency or mistake inherent in administrative organisation of the Customs Service of Nigeria is not a necessary nor sufficient argumentation or reason to justify non payment of duty/tarrif on goods and vehicles imported by individuals because it is a civic responsibility and the Customs Service of Nigeria has the legal right to demand payment at all times despite the above mentioned inadequacy.
In the Netherlands, there was a case of a woman who properly filed for yearly tax refund and she was supposed to get a refund of 300,000EUR her right obviously but tax administration office inadvertently paid the woman in question 3,000,000EUR despite the fact that obvious mistake had been made by the tax administration office and given the fact that the woman in question has/had the civic duty to report such error to the authority she decided to go on a spending spree of unbridled hedonistic funfair. Please, note here that the woman in question has/had a legal duty of reporting the same with the importers of goods and vehicles into Nigeria they have a legal responsibility to pay import duty.
The woman did not perform her civic responsibility using frivolous argumentation just like Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola) that it is the problem of the tax administration office to avoid such mistake ab-initio but the law has a different perspective because she was charged with stealing, failure to report or dereliction of civil responsibility and found guilty accordingly with judgement that she must pay back the money mistakenly credited into her account with interest at the current rate at the time.
The import of this anecdote is to tell those people peddling inefficiency or mistake inherent in administrative organisation of the Customs Service of Nigeria as justification for legalization of citizens anarchism in respect of Customs duty payment on goods or vehicles imported into the country to stop forthwith because as legislator they should not be seen encouraging citizens to break the law.
The defence of citizens right or consumer protection must not be equated with evasion of duty, tarrif and tax or denial of pre-existing right of an organisation like the Custom Service of Nigeria. What we need to do is to find a way to spare the consumers the headache associated with this proposed regulation and I am of the opinion that Hameed Ali shall come out with an elaborate mechanism along this trajectory.
Hameed Ali can still implement this new regulation on vehicle import duty with slight modifications using existing law by focusing primarily on Importers thereby given the existing Car owners, consumers the necessary leeway within the ambit of the law to regularise their Customs clearance papers gratis within 6months, only importers of vehicles who are in violation by committing an offence of duty evasion will be asked to pay accordingly given whatever terms they agree with the Custom service of Nigeria.
Public enlightenment is necessary to sensitize Nigerians, consumers of goods in this case imported vehicles to always ask for original Customs clearance papers from Car dealers before payment and If consumers are given fake/forged Customs clearance papers, importers/Car dealers concern must be prosecuted. Moreover, owners of imported Cars for registration from the date of implementation of the new regulation will be mandated to pay Customs duty if they do not have/ask the seller for original Custom clearance papers before payment because they have deliberately jettison their right to be protected by law with their refusal to demand required documentation i.e Genuine Custom clearance papers.
In conclusion it is in the interest of all gladiators to sheath their sword in other to advance the development of Nigeria. This is not a game of thrones neither is this going to be the fight of the Lords of the Manor in contestation for superiority in a feudalistic agglomeration both sides must appreciate the current economic challenges and the need to raise funds legitimately to meet government commitments.
OTUNBA ADE ILEMOBADE IS A PHILOSOPHER
TWITTER: @PEARL2PRINCE
If we accept this statement affirmatively, then it is a given that the Customs Service of Nigeria has the right to demand payment of duty retrospectively because there is an established right on the part of the Customs Service of Nigeria and also established civic duty/responsibility on the part of the importers to pay accordingly.
Whether the goods in question are already in the market or in this case vehicles are in the showroom is irrelevant. Anyone crying foul play is ignorant and a victim of the corrupt, fraud infested society that we have created with Padi-Padi, Rigimo arrangement to issues of civic duty/responsibility in our clime.
Arguments presented by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola) to the fact that the vehicles are already in the country and question like How, What is the Customs Service doing before those vehicles or goods got into the country or the obvious fact of inefficiency in the service is never an excuse to refuse duty/tarrif payment if and when an Officer or the Customs Service of Nigeria discover such discrepancy.
This is a legal duty and a civic responsibility required of citizens despite inefficiency and mistake inherent in Customs Service of Nigeria administrative organisation. Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola), in Europe/Internationally your vehicle shall be impounded if you do not have all the required papers inclusive Customs clearance papers when/if it is an imported vehicle because absence of proper documentation is an offence punishable either by fine or imprisonment but the option of fine is always preferred.
I think it is significant at this point to illustrate my position with an anecdote to buttress my view that inefficiency or mistake inherent in administrative organisation of the Customs Service of Nigeria is not a necessary nor sufficient argumentation or reason to justify non payment of duty/tarrif on goods and vehicles imported by individuals because it is a civic responsibility and the Customs Service of Nigeria has the legal right to demand payment at all times despite the above mentioned inadequacy.
In the Netherlands, there was a case of a woman who properly filed for yearly tax refund and she was supposed to get a refund of 300,000EUR her right obviously but tax administration office inadvertently paid the woman in question 3,000,000EUR despite the fact that obvious mistake had been made by the tax administration office and given the fact that the woman in question has/had the civic duty to report such error to the authority she decided to go on a spending spree of unbridled hedonistic funfair. Please, note here that the woman in question has/had a legal duty of reporting the same with the importers of goods and vehicles into Nigeria they have a legal responsibility to pay import duty.
The woman did not perform her civic responsibility using frivolous argumentation just like Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (@YAYIAdeola) that it is the problem of the tax administration office to avoid such mistake ab-initio but the law has a different perspective because she was charged with stealing, failure to report or dereliction of civil responsibility and found guilty accordingly with judgement that she must pay back the money mistakenly credited into her account with interest at the current rate at the time.
The import of this anecdote is to tell those people peddling inefficiency or mistake inherent in administrative organisation of the Customs Service of Nigeria as justification for legalization of citizens anarchism in respect of Customs duty payment on goods or vehicles imported into the country to stop forthwith because as legislator they should not be seen encouraging citizens to break the law.
The defence of citizens right or consumer protection must not be equated with evasion of duty, tarrif and tax or denial of pre-existing right of an organisation like the Custom Service of Nigeria. What we need to do is to find a way to spare the consumers the headache associated with this proposed regulation and I am of the opinion that Hameed Ali shall come out with an elaborate mechanism along this trajectory.
Hameed Ali can still implement this new regulation on vehicle import duty with slight modifications using existing law by focusing primarily on Importers thereby given the existing Car owners, consumers the necessary leeway within the ambit of the law to regularise their Customs clearance papers gratis within 6months, only importers of vehicles who are in violation by committing an offence of duty evasion will be asked to pay accordingly given whatever terms they agree with the Custom service of Nigeria.
Public enlightenment is necessary to sensitize Nigerians, consumers of goods in this case imported vehicles to always ask for original Customs clearance papers from Car dealers before payment and If consumers are given fake/forged Customs clearance papers, importers/Car dealers concern must be prosecuted. Moreover, owners of imported Cars for registration from the date of implementation of the new regulation will be mandated to pay Customs duty if they do not have/ask the seller for original Custom clearance papers before payment because they have deliberately jettison their right to be protected by law with their refusal to demand required documentation i.e Genuine Custom clearance papers.
In conclusion it is in the interest of all gladiators to sheath their sword in other to advance the development of Nigeria. This is not a game of thrones neither is this going to be the fight of the Lords of the Manor in contestation for superiority in a feudalistic agglomeration both sides must appreciate the current economic challenges and the need to raise funds legitimately to meet government commitments.
OTUNBA ADE ILEMOBADE IS A PHILOSOPHER
TWITTER: @PEARL2PRINCE
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