Please use this thread to provide updates on this topic as you see fit. Here are the
latest developments since our last major discussion:

1. The ban appears to be the brain-child of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. But GEJ himself
gave the final approval.

2* On the face of strong opposition from different quarters, Olusegun Aganga (the
Minister of Trade & Industry and a major supporter of the ban) said he will ensure
the ban takes effect with “every ounce of his being”.

3. The effective date of the new tariff is still unclear. There is no mention of the
subject on the website of the Nigeria Customs Service. You will expect to find such
information there, but sadly, it is not. At least I couldn't find it after a prolonged search.

4* Stallion Group (a major car importer) is alleged to have received preferential treatment
from the FG that will allow them import 20,000 cars over the next 3 years. They will do
so at the old duty rate of 20% and not 70%. A Senate committee is investigating the
allegation. Will anything come of the investigation? Your guess is as good as mine.

5* The Chairman of Coscharis Motors, Mr. Cosmos Maduka, said the new auto policy
was one of the best things that had happened in the country in recent times. (I don’t
blame Coscharis for saying this since he is among a select few that stand to reap huge
financial windfalls from the ban).

6* The House of Representatives has passed a resolution urging the FG to suspend the
ban on importation of tokunbo cars. Note that this is merely a resolution and not law.
So it will have little or no effect.

7* The Federal Government is claiming that after the ban, new cars will sell for N1.5M or
less. But nobody believes that. Just visit Punch Newspapers website and see what
Nigerians are saying on that.

8* Hon Dayo Bush-Alebiosu a member of the House of Representatives from Lagos urges
the government to put a hold on the ban on importation of tokunbo cars. He said it will
only favour "friends of government".

9. Many people think this ban will not take effect. They believe the government will reverse
the decision at the last minute. Such people include a few Nairalanders I have heard from.
Unfortunately, their beliefs are based on gut feelings and not any concrete information.

10*. We now have a sample picture of what the N1.2M made in Nigeria car might look like.
See picture below. Picture courtesy of Ndu Chuks.

11. I heard that a circular regarding the ban was passed around by the Nigerian Customs
recently. Unfortunately, my source did not get a copy. If you are a clearing agent in
possession of the circular, please share the contents with us.

12*. Txswat of Nairaland is reporting that the new 70% tarrif will take effect on January 10.
However, he did not provide a source for his information. We will find out on or after
January 10 if that is true.

13. It appears Txswat was correct in item 12 above. A memo originating from the office
of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that tokunbo cars shipped after January 10, 2014 will incur
the new 70% tariff. The shipment date will be determined by the date on the Bill of Lading.

14*. A delegation of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) met with
GEJ and requested "tariff waivers on all vehicles it imports".

More updates will be posted as they become available.

Disclosure: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to once again disclose
that I sell tokunbo cars.

References:

2* http://www.manufacturingtoday.com.ng/2013/12/01/automotive-policy-clearing-the-fog/
4* http://www.punchng.com/news/automotive-policy-senate-to-investigate-allegation-of-information-leakage/
5* http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/govt-importers-agree-on-auto-policy-implementation/
6* http://www.punchng.com/news/reps-urge-fg-to-suspend-new-tariff-on-used-vehicles/
7* http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/made-in-nigeria-vehicles-to-sell-for-n1-2m-fg/
8* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM8bGPrKLXk
10* https://www.nairaland.com/1573174/first-potential-look-n1.2million-nigerian
12* https://www.nairaland.com/1574300/new-import-duty
14* http://www.punchng.com/news/automotive-policy-will-not-inflict-hardship-on-nigerians-jonathan/

This thread tends towards political issues and as such I'm moving it to politics section.

You sell tokunbo cars,so it's obvious why your views are jaundiced.

solomon111: You sell tokunbo cars,so it's obvious why your views are jaundiced.

It is wrong to say that the OP's views are jaundiced simply because he sells Tokunbo cars. Frankly there is no reason whatsoever to abruptly increase custom duties on import vehicles by 250% because we want to assist an automobile manufacturing industry which is in its infancy. The government can certainly support the industry with various incentives without putting thousands of people out of work abruptly - car dealers, dock workers, customs agents, and various hard working Nigerians.

We were told that customs services lost N700billion due to waivers on imports in 2013 alone, one would think that some of that money could be used to incentivize these automoble manufacturing companies to produce.

The result of this policy would be that, Tokunbo automobiles will continue to in through the republic of Benin, and the customs tariffs will be revised downwards once customs revenues start to fall dramatically.

ndu_chucks:

It is wrong to say that the OP's views are jaundiced simply because he sells Tokunbo cars. Frankly there is no reason whatsoever to abruptly increase custom duties on import vehicles by 250% because we want to assist an automobile manufacturing industry which is in its infancy. The government can certainly support the industry with various incentives without putting thousands of people out of work abruptly - car dealers, dock workers, customs agents, and various hard working Nigerians.

We were told that customs services lost N700billion due to waivers on imports in 2013 alone, one would think that some of that money could be used to incentivize these automoble manufacturing companies to produce.

The result of this policy would be that, Tokunbo automobiles will continue to in through the republic of Benin, and the customs tariffs will be revised downwards once customs revenues start to fall dramatically.

Don't be naive.
If it were another country,i would agree with you.
Unfortunately,this's Nigeria with all its inferiority complexes,unpatriotism and an utter disdain and disregard for locally made products.
I can assure you that as long as there's a readily available foreign alternative, Nigerians would never patronize the local manufacturers.
So,just giving the local manufacturers incentives alone will not do much for them as long as their targeted markets has been completly taken over by toyota and co.
The only way we can truely grow indigenous autoindustry in NIGERIA is to go the hard way.

solomon111: Don't be naive.
If it were another country,i would agree with you.
Unfortunately,this's Nigeria with all its inferiority complexes,unpatriotism and an utter disdain and disregard for locally made products.
I can assure you that as long as there's a readily available foreign alternative, Nigerians would never patronize the local manufacturers.
So,just giving the local manufacturers incentives alone will not do much for them as long as their targeted markets has been completly taken over by toyota and co.
The only way we can truely grow indigenous autoindustry in NIGERIA is to go the hard way.

Would you kindly explain to us the effect of last year's ban on importation of rice, so far? If you admit that the results we are seeing now is not what was expected, what would you have changed in the manner of the implementation of that policy.

solomon111: You sell tokunbo cars,so it's obvious why your views are jaundiced.

There is nothing wrong in making disclosures such as I have done. In fact in civilized
countries, it is a standard requirement to make such disclosures when discussing
matters that affect you even remotely.

At least you can tell from my disclosure where I stand. Would you rather have me
pretend that I am neutral?

ndu_chucks:

Would you kindly explain to us the effect of last year's ban on importation of rice, so far? If you admit that the results we are seeing now is not what was expected, what would you have changed in the manner of the implementation of that policy.

The ban on rice has led to an increase in the local production,creation of more rice mills around the country(which i'm sure you must have been aware of), and more money for both the farmers and mills.
We're already on the path to self-sufficiency in rice.
What Nigerians should then do is to put pressure on govt to improve border security and control, so that the rewards of these policies would be maximally felt by Nigerians.
The huge amount spent on rice imports should be used on other things.

BizBooks:

There is nothing wrong in making disclosures such as I have done. In fact in civilized
countries, it is a standard requirement to make such disclosures when discussing
matters that affect you even remotely.

At least you can tell from my disclosure where I stand. Would you rather have me
pretend that I am neutral?

I'm sorry for my initial outburst.
It still dosen't take away the fact that your objectivity on issues like this would be in question being a beneficiary of the old policy.
It's a normal human behaviour.

solomon111: The ban on rice has led to an increase in the local production,creation of more rice mills around the country(which i'm sure you must have been aware of), and more money for both the farmers and mills.
We're already on the path to self-sufficiency in rice.
The huge amount spent on rice imports should be used on other things.

In my opinion, these policies should primarily benefit the Nigerian people rather than corporations. I'd consider a policy failed, if the beneficiaries are corporations owned by cronies of the usual suspects. In case you do not know as at last year, a bag of good rice sold at N6,500 and N7,500. But because of the policy, a bag of rice now sells between N10,000 and N12,000. You cannot argue that the masses are benefiting from such a policy.

Don't get me wrong, I am in full support of any policy which will give significant incentives to automobile manufacturers - what is senseless is the abrupt increase in tariffs by 250%. It appears that government officials have learnt nothing from the rice policy.

solomon111:
It still dosen't take away the fact that your objectivity on issues like this would be
in question being a beneficiary of the old policy.

My brother, this is not a question of objectivity. Did you read item 4 on my list above?
If not, read it and let me know what you think. Laws in Nigeria are made to favour the
super-rich.

ndu_chucks:

In my opinion, these policies should primarily benefit the Nigerian people rather than corporations. I'd consider a policy failed, if the beneficiaries are corporations owned by cronies of the usual suspects. In case you do not know as at last year, a bag of good rice sold at N6,500 and N7,500. But because of the policy, a bag of rice now sells between N10,000 and N12,000. You cannot argue that the masses is benefiting from such a policy.

Don't get me wrong, I am in full support of any policy which will give significant incentives to automobile manufacturers - what is senseless is the abrupt increase in tariffs by 250%. It appears that government officials have learnt nothing from the rice policy.

The rice policy is still in its early stages.
It has not yet achieved its full desired results by a long shot, as it's still too premature to yield very significant progress.
You mentioned something about cooperations and not Nigerians benefiting.
That is absolutely wrong.
Are the coperations not employing Nigerians?
Are those cooperations not improving the GDP of the country?
Are those cooperations not retaining the funds in Nigeria that should have been wasted on foreign imports?
What stops you from starting your cooperation and benefit from this policy instead of wasting monies on foreign visas?
Many of these policies are created by to reduce unemployment which is what the cooperations are doing.

BizBooks:

My brother, this is not a question of objectivity. Did you read item 4 on my list above?
If not, read it and let me know what you think. Laws in Nigeria are made to favour the
super-rich.

Well this particular policy was created to reduce unemployment,and the diversification of the Nigerian economy by stimulating and supporting the manufacturing sector.

solomon111: The rice policy is still in its early stages.
It has not yet achieved its full desired results by a long shot, as it's still too premature to yield very significant progress.
You mentioned something about cooperations and not Nigerians benefiting.
That is absolutely wrong.
Are the coperations not employing Nigerians?
Are those cooperations not improving the GDP of the country?
Are those cooperations not retaining the funds in Nigeria that should have been wasted on foreign imports?
What stops you from starting your cooperation and benefit from this policy instead of wasting monies on foreign visas?
Many of these policies are created by to reduce unemployment which is what the cooperations are doing.

The above is a buch of balderdash. The masses do not need to bear the burden of 100% increase in the price of a staple product such as rice within a year of a policy supposedly designed to favour the masses. So far only corporations owned by the cronies of the policy makers are benefiting from the policy. The government should have put appropriate measures in place to avoid this kind of drastic increase in price.

These policy makers are repeating the same mistake with this Auto policy. Mark my words, they will reverse the tariff increase within a year.

solomon111: Well this particular policy was created to reduce unemployment,and the diversification of the Nigerian economy by stimulating and supporting the manufacturing sector.

No, this particular policy was created to favour the rich. Why is it okay for rich
people like Stallion Group to keep importing cars at the old rate while the common
man like you and I can't? It did not say Stallion group will manufacture 20,000 cars
rather it said they will import 20,000 cars at the old rate. So we are not talking about
manufacturing here.

ndu_chucks:

The above is a buch of balderdash. The masses do not need to bear the burden of 100% increase in the price of a staple product such as rice within a year of a policy supposedly designed to favour the masses. So far only corporations owned by the cronies of the policy makers are benefiting from the policy. The government should have put appropriate measures in place to avoid this kind of drastic increase in price.

These policy makers are repeating the same mistake with this Auto policy. Mark my words, they will reverse the tariff increase within a year.

Nigerian rice is cheaper or at most, at the same price with the imported rice.
The only problem was that Nigerians chose the imported ones and abandoned the local rice.
What this policy is trying to achieve is to make the imported rice more expensive than the local rice so that Nigerians would then turn to the local rice.
So yes,increase in the price of imported rice is part of the overall objective.

BizBooks:

No, this particular policy was created to favour the rich. Why is it okay for rich
people like Stallion Group to keep importing cars at the old rate while the common
man like you and I can't? It did not say Stallion group will manufacture 20,000 cars
rather it said they will import 20,000 cars at the old rate. So we are not talking about
manufacturing here.

Stallion group was chosen for whatever reason to import a CERTAIN QUOTA of imported vehicles until 2015 so as to meet the local demands for now, until local production becomes sufficient for the entire market.
And i'm sure and hope they're going to be under strict govt surveillance.
You don't expect govt to throw the importing licence open,which would defeat the overall objective in the first place.

solomon111: Stallion group was chosen for whatever reason to import a
CERTAIN QUOTA of imported vehicles until 2015 so as to meet the local demands for now

No, nobody chose Stallion Group. Below is what was alleged to have happened:

However, some competitors alleged that an insider gave Stallion Group unfair
advantage over other local dealers by informing it of the policy before it was
made public. The competitors alleged that while deliberations were ongoing at
the Federal Executive Council on Oct. 2, the company rushed to open 382 million
dollars letters of credit.

According to the competitors, the letter of credits are to cover three years of
imports for 20,000 cars.

That date October 2 is very important because letters of credit opened on or
before October 2 attracts 20% duty while those opened after that date will
attract 70%. So Stallion Group was given that information at the exclusion
of everybody else before it was made public.

http://www.punchng.com/news/automotive-policy-senate-to-investigate-allegation-of-information-leakage/

BizBooks:

No, nobody chose Stallion Group. Below is what was alleged to have happened:

However, some competitors alleged that an insider gave Stallion Group unfair
advantage over other local dealers by informing it of the policy before it was
made public. The competitors alleged that while deliberations were ongoing at
the Federal Executive Council on Oct. 2, the company rushed to open 382 million
dollars letters of credit.

According to the competitors, the letter of credits are to cover three years of
imports for 20,000 cars.

That date October 2 is very important because letters of credit opened on or
before October 2 attracts 20% duty while those opened after that date will
attract 70%. So Stallion Group was given that information at the exclusion
of everybody else before it was made public.

http://www.punchng.com/news/automotive-policy-senate-to-investigate-allegation-of-information-leakage/

Well,then if this's the case,then the culprits and stallion group should be punished.
But then you can't really accuse the FG of trying to favour a particular car dealer if someone working in a FG ministry decides to against the laws for his/her personal gains.
It's just like blaming the american NSA because edward snowden decided to betray them.

Back to Shagari'/ekweme regime of import and export licenses and handing same to self,girlfriends,corrupt acolytes,clansmen,politician ,militicians etc.
I thought IWEALA is a lover of ayn rand school of free market capitalism and competition.
These clannish and absolutely corrupt dolts are not talking about increasing tariffs on vegetable oil,palm oil,textiles,candles ,toothpick ,pen,pencil,paper.
Things we can produce.
They want to enrich their cronies and themselves

CAN WE GET RID OF THESE FOOLS ALREADY

ndu_chucks:

Would you kindly explain to us the effect of last year's ban on importation of rice, so far? If you admit that the results we are seeing now is not what was expected, what would you have changed in the manner of the implementation of that policy.

the effect of banning rice? For the first time since my birth, i eat a well packaged made in nigeria rice by 'honeywell' for christmas. Interestinly it was very tasty, non sticky and generaly vry good quality. Nigeria can produce goods that can stand german quality. Have u used made in aba leather shoes before? You will wear it untill u get tired and throw them off.

Update:

Hon Dayo Bush-Alebiosu a member of the House of Representatives from Lagos urges
the government to put a hold on the ban on importation of tokunbo cars. He said it will
only favour "friends of government".

I couldn't agree more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM8bGPrKLXk

It is rather interesting how we seek the progress of Nigeria, but are unwilling to pay the price that comes with development. The increased tariff (not ban) is quite high, but if that is the price we have to pay for the blossoming of our auto industry, then so be it. We applaud China today as the counter-balance to western hegemony, but the price they paid in money, blood, doing without foriegn goods and money is unquantifiable!

Aside tokunbo vehicles, Nigeria imports an average of 40,000 new vehicles yearly. Imagine if 20,000 of those vehicles were manufactured locally, whether by indigenous or foreign established companies. I bet fewer of our graduates would be roaming the streets. I bet the vehicles will also cost less. Detriot and many other American cities are what they are because of the American auto industry, employing millions of people in both direct and indirect jobs.

Are we willing to pay the price? Or will the Government once again be arm-twisted to dilute its policies? This will shortly come to light.

nahinbdis: The increased tariff (not ban) is quite high,

Don't be deceived by semantics. The tariff which is quite high as you rightly
pointed out is an in-direct way of banning tokunbo cars.

nahinbdis: Detriot and many other American cities are what they
are because of the American auto industry, employing millions of people in both
direct and indirect jobs.

Are you aware that Detroit has gone bankrupt despite all the auto plants there?
A large portion of the city is virtually a ghost town. Google "Abandoned Houses
in Detroit" and see for yourself.

Auto plants do not employ as many people as you think since most of the functions
are performed by robots.