Customs impounds vehicle over unpaid N94m VAT

From: Femi Oyelola, kaduna

AS anti-smuggling drive of Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) continues, Federal Operation Unit, Zone ‘B’, has made seizures of vehicles, rice and vegetable oil with duty paid value of N94 million in Kaduna alone in the past two weeks.
The seizures include two Hilux Toyota vehicle with duty paid value of N35 million, 860 bags of smuggled foreign parboiled rice with duty value of N19 million, 20kg of vegetable oil with duty paid value of N378.000, six J5 and two buses used as means of conveying the smuggled items with duty paid value of N4.860 million on one Dangote truck with duty paid value of N33 .750 Million.
The new Comptroller for the Zone, Muhammed Mustapha, who stated this while showcasing the seizures before newsmen at the Zone’s office located along Kaduna-Zaria highway on Thursday said, the unit has intensified efforts against what he called economic saboteurs which has led to the seizures in two weeks of his resumption at the unit.
According to him, the seizures were made along Kano-Zaria-Pambegua and Funtua-Zaria-Kaduna axis of the roads respectively, quickly attributed the success to the operational tactics, intense surveillance and engagement of proactive officers and men in the anti-smuggling drive.
“In our quest to quest to combat smuggling and reduce it to the barest minimum, the unit has intensified its anti-smuggling drive against economic saboteurs in a bid to stop uncustomed goods from finding their way into the country in order to safeguard the country’s economy.
“In line with this mission, the anti-smuggling strategies adopted have resulted in various seizures of foreign parboiled rice and some exotic vehicles illegally smuggled into the country within the period under review”, he added.
The Comptroller however called on smugglers to shun the act in whatever guise just as he reiterated the commitment of NCS in the fight against smuggling and items prohibited by the Federal Government.