CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: HOW TO CLEAR CARS

What is the cost of Car Clearing Nigeria? Almost on daily basis, I have had to deal with requests for cost of clearing cars in Nigeria. To respond to the enquirer I always request for the make, model, year and perhaps the engine capacity of the car. This article will explain why the car make, model of the car and year are necessary in estimating clearance cost. The article will further give clue on what importers pay for when they import cars into Nigeria.

First, what really are the meanings of the terms car make, car model, year and the engine capacity? Let us define these terms with specific examples to bring all readers up to speed.

Read also: COST OF CLEARING BMW CARS NIGERIA

CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: MAKE, MODEL, AND YEAR

By car make, we mean the company that made the car. Toyota, Mercedes, Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, and BMW are all car makes. A car model is the specific product type from the same manufacturer. For example, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Rav4, etc. are models of Toyota. The year means production date of the car. Therefore, Toyota Camry 2010 defines the make, model and year.

Why are the make, model and year such important parameters with car clearing Nigeria? The following subheading will answer this question.

CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: NIGERIA CUSTOMS AND THE CAR VALUE

The Nigeria Customs have a kind of fixed price for all car models and year. Duty calculation is on Custom price, irrespective of what the sales invoice states. Consequently, what this means is that the clearing agent only needs the car make, model and year to obtain the Customs value. Consequently, the amount of duty payable is a function of the Custom value of the car, which again is a function of the make, model and year of manufacture.

CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: DO I NEED FORM M AND SONCAP?

Most importation to Nigeria requires importers to obtain Form M first before proceeding with shipping. For goods regulated by the Standard Organization of Nigeria, Form M document follows the Standard Organization of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program – SONCAP. Car clearing does not follow the Form M/SONCAP process for old or used cars. For new vehicles, especially manufactured the same year or last year, Form M is needful. Hence, to answer the question raised at the beginning paragraph, I will say depends on age of the car.

CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: HOW MUCH IS THE COST TO CLEAR CARS IN NIGERIA?

The question of how much it cost to clear cars in Nigeria is not a complete question. To be complete, the inquirer must state the make, model and year of the car in question. In addition, the cost of clearing cars in Nigeria is constantly changing as exchange rate is changing. Therefore, importers must be careful of just picking some pieces on the internet and using it to discredit clearance vendors. Such information may have been accurate during the publication time, but has since become obsolete. The cost of car clearing Nigeria is under the following headings:

• Customs duty
• Shipping company local charge
• Terminal handling charge
• Clearing service charge

Read also: COST OF CLEARING TOYOTA CARS IN NIGERIA

CAR CLEARING NIGERIA: EXAMPLE OF HOW MUCH TO CLEAR CARS

A potential client writes:

Dear Vagmon, how much will it cost me to clear ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE 2014? How long will you take to clear the vehicle?

Our response:

Thanks for reaching Vagmon. We look forward to working for you.

Kindly confirm the following:

• If your vehicle is containerized.
• Who is the shipping line? For RORO (not containerized, a term that means roll-in-roll out) We recommend you ship with Grimaldi Shipping Lines
• If there are other vehicles and/load in the container, please specify as this affects total clearance cost.

Also, note the following:

• Custom Duty for vehicles – 20%
• Other taxes payable for cars are 15% levy, and 7.5% VAT.

Therefore, the following is the cost of clearance:

• ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE 2014 valued at $37985 by Customs
• Total Customs duty payable – ₦7,568,175
• Terminal Charge (RORO)/Shipping company local charges – ₦150,000
• Agency Service Charge – ₦350,000
• Total cost of clearing – ₦8,068,175

All cost included, the quoted rates are the full comprehensive rates payable on your vehicle.

Similarly, for containerized shipping, the charges payable are:

• Customs Duty
• Terminal Charge
• Shipping Company Handling Charge
• Clearing Services Charge

For more information about Customs duty, see the article: CUSTOMS DUTY TARIFF: NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE EXAMPLE

CONCLUSION

Car clearing Nigeria does not require a Form M or SONCAP. The first step in car clearing is ex-factory valuation, using the make, model and year of manufacture of the car. Therefore, contact us today to give and up-to-date comprehensive quote before even buying the car. Following this piece of advice will help you avoid surprises that result when you do otherwise. Thank you for reading this piece.

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