Importation and Import Duty
This week has been an eye opener for me to the way the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) works in Nigeria in terms of how duties are determined, calculated and paid.
I speak mainly from my experience with DHL and their interpretation of the process.
I bought some items from Amazon and shipped them to MyUs.com which happens to be an excellent shipping service. I will write about them later.
Once all the items I wanted was complete, I asked myus.com to ship them to me here in Nigeria. To effect the shipping, I chose DHL as the shipper, the other option was FedEx which is definitely a good courier company. I chose DHL because I have used them quite well in the past and they have a good web, phone and email tracking system that allows you to know where your items are most of the time.
Well, by the DHL tracker my item was in Lagos by Monday and had gone through sorting only to read that it was experiencing clearance delay.
I waited and hoped that it would move on but also prepared to receive a call from DHL about the situation, the later was the case and around 1230pm the next day, I got a call telling me about the delay and the duty that I have to pay.
I asked for the email to be sent to me and this was sent out immediately.
Upon reading it, I saw that the total cost of the invoice was way above the cost of the things I bought, but I already had an answer to that the DHL agent or rather customs’s agent as he was very enthusiastic to tell me that NCS has a market value that they impose on items when they feel the invoice has been understated or undervalued in their words. So without requesting for evidence or sighting any documents NCS can blatantly decide the cost of any item they see. So the question is do they have a standard list of prices or does the list change as the harmattan temperature changes or is this the so-called Nigerian factor at work?
Moreover, the duty that is calculated is one that is based on the total cost of the invoice and not the item of interest. First, I had some stuff for my kids in the package, tiara, socks, shorts, pants and some for my wife. It was these items that attracted customs to the package. Second, the cost of the ‘clothes ensemble’ was definitely less than the total invoice cost as I had a book, some DVDs and a card reader in the package. So according to the NCS calculation from the DHL/NCS rep, the total dutiable invoice cost is my original total + some additional ‘market value’.
What this means is that 1) though the total levy is 45%, due to the regime of taxing the total, the duty can easily be in the region of 70%
2) With the additional cost added to the total, the duty on the clothes easily rises 300% of the original cost of the items.
I don’t believe and will not believe that the government of Nigeria will deliberately put such a load on her citizens.
I am yet to receive my goods from DHL but I am hopeful that between them and the NCS, the issue will be resolved and I will be able to pick up my items but more importantly, it is necessary that the right thing is done in the interest of this great nation. I understand that some people try to cheat the system and that is unfortunate and pitiable but to set up a scarcity mentality and blatantly label everyone a crook is a worse solution.
New Year! New Resolution! New Plan
January 27, 2013 by Jide Ajayi • Issues, Life • Tags: bible, bible reading, Bible Study, desiring God, issues, life, logos bible software, New Plan, new year, phone, reading, resolution, tablet •
As we gradually settle into the new year, some of us are already behind in terms of some of the goals set. Others are still diligent and still making progess.
One thing that I believe one can do in the new year especially when you have faith in Christ Jesus, is to strive to know more about him through the reading of the bible.
There is a children’s song which says
Growing in Christ and knowing Him personally is something that is achieved by studying the bible and applying it.
To make the process more meaningful, it is helpful to have a system in place which helps one to track the progress that is being made and appreciate what one is getting out of the process.
It starts with a plan,
How much of the Bible do you want to read?
You need to decide if you want to read every single book in 1 month or 3 months or one year. Also, do you want to read the psalms, proverbs a book in the old testament and a book in the new testament everyday? What if you want to read a book in the old testament and new testament everyday? A plan is important to determine what you want to achieve at the end of the period of interest.
When do you want to read the bible?
This is as important a factor as establishing a plan. Do you have time during break at work to do this or do you prefer to be refreshed in the morning before you do anything else? What if you like to have the word of God as the last thing on your mind before you go to bed? There are some many possibilities but you need to do some thing that works for you.
Now what if you like to read early in the morning and you find yourself re-reading the same line over and over again, one thing you can do is to read out the passage aloud to yourself, that helps to keep the focus and you can hear yourself reading and appreciating the passage as you are involving more parts of your body in the effort.
How do you want to track what you are reading?
This is an opprtunity to record what you are learning, a dedicated journal may be used to record your thoughts with the bible verse of interest recorded beside or above your comments.
If you are using an electronic bible on your tablet, phone or computer, you can also use the note facility included to do the same, it serves as a reminder of the things you have learnt and how you are growing and applying yourself to the word.
I use Logos Bible software which is a good software application and has a lot of functionalities, there are also applications for the iOS and Android devices if you prefect the mobile front.
As a final support for the new year resolution, there is a post by John Piper it is a good read.
Have a wonderful and blessed 2013
Cheers!!!