NIGERIA — Airline operators have disclosed that Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) generates over $1 billion (N1.6 trillion) annually from levies and taxes imposed on importation of aircraft and aircraft spares, despite the zero waiver given to the airlines, as contained in the Finance Act of 2020.
Airlines that made the disclosure, said they paid 1.5 per cent, which includes 1 per cent ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and 0.5 per cent Comprehensive Imports Supervision Scheme (CISS), which amounts to over $1 billion annually. They said Customs insisted that the levies and taxes were obligatory charges on spares and aircraft, and not part of the surcharges waived for the airlines, They however said the levies and taxes have increased the cost of aircraft and spares, and have caused delivery delays, “because when the spares arrive in the country, they would not be delivered to the airlines until the taxes and levies were paid.”
The operators complained that they have lost huge revenues as a result of the delays, insisting that the payments they make to Customs erode whatever profits they could generate from the business. According to them, the costs are reflected in the tickets, which makes travelers pay more, adding that the taxes are a disincentive to aircraft acquisition, considering the low operational capital at the behest of most airline operators.
They complained of high operational cost, which they attributed to Customs’ taxes, high insurance premium, charges from aviation agencies and high cost of aviation fuel... thisdaylive.com
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