In a statement issued Friday in Abuja, Timi Bomodi, customs deputy national public relations officer, said, “By law, only items imported by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are exempted from the payment of duties or taxes.”

Mr Bomodi said government MDAs were to pay duties on imported vehicles or other items, except where waivers and concessions were sought and granted.

“The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a trend in the activities of certain Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with regards to their import of vehicles and other equipment.

“The NCS wishes to state that except where waivers or concessions were sought and granted, all outstanding duties and taxes relating to such imports are expected to be paid in full. This applies even in situations where these imports were executed by agents or proxies on their behalf.

Mr Bomodi said by this notice customs was thereby “sensitising MDAs and advising them on the need to adhere strictly with import guidelines in this regard.”

He further warned that contractors who import and supply such equipment or vehicles without paying duties would be considered liable as fraudulent importers.

“We urge them to avail themselves of our trade facilitation tools available on and offline. This is necessary to avoid embarrassments in future”, he added.