Importers to pay more for rice

[MrVan]

By GODWIN ORITSE

LAGOS – The Federal Government has introduced an additional charge of N26,000 per tonne for imported rice.

The new charge which took effect in January,  according to Comptroller-General,  Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Alhaji Abdulahi Dikko, was for the first quarter of the year, adding that the same policy will continue in the second quarter.

The duty for the importation of rice increased from $550 (N83,350) to $699  (N109,740).

Dikko said the benchmark on rice will remain what it was, until government decides otherwise, noting that since the new bench mark on rice was released by government, nobody had come forward to contest it.

He said: "Why are jobless agents and fraudulent importers, who are always looking for loopholes to beat the system making unnecessary noise over the recently-introduced benchmark by the Customs."

Vanguard Nigeria