6th March, 2014
Business activities at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos were on Thursday paralysed as clearing agents staged a protest over the implementation of a new tariff on imported used vehicles.
Reports said that the agents barricaded the APM terminal at the Tin-Can Island port and barred people from going in and out of the port.
The Federal Government, had in 2013, raised the tariff on imported used vehicles to 70 per cent against the earlier maximum of 55 per cent.
The agents, under the aegis of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), told NAN that they wanted the government to reverse to the old tariff.
Mr Emmauel Onyeme, the Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, said that the protest was not only in the interest of importers, but of the entire population.
“’We appeal to the government to look into the tariff in the interest of the country. We are not protesting for our interest alone, but for the 140 million Nigerians.
“We want the tariff reversed. The duty they are asking us to pay is too much. We will continue this protest tomorrow,” Onyeme said.