The Nigerian government reveals a strategy to end the issue of vehicle smuggling.

The Nigerian government has revealed its strategy to put an end to the illicit smuggling of vehicles into the country through the implementation of the National Vehicle Registry Policy, known as VREG.

VREG functions by consolidating vehicle data from various agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Vehicles Inspection Offices, the Police, National Central Vehicles Data, and the Federal Road Safety Corps’ database.

Speaking at the VREG Zonal Sensitisation Campaign in Abuja, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, emphasized that the initiative aims to combat customs duty evasion perpetrated by vehicle importers.

Edun stated, “The Federal Ministry of Finance is responsible for managing the nation’s finances and revenue streams. Faced with declining revenue due to falling oil prices and a mono-economy, compounded by revenue leakages from customs duty payment evasion, the government recognized the need for effective solutions.”

He further explained, “The absence of a centralized platform for national vehicular information, despite Nigeria being the largest vehicle importer in Africa with an additional 15 million vehicles in operation, had perpetuated issues such as customs duty evasion, lack of data for vehicular policy formulation, revenue leakages in nationwide vehicle administration, vehicle theft, vehicle-related crimes, challenges in road traffic regulation enforcement, limited access to credit facilities, and ineffective vehicle insurance coverage and monitoring and evaluation.”

Highlighting the achievements since the introduction of VREG in 2021, Edun noted, “Several benefits of the registry have been realized, including its role as a tool to counter customs duty administration evasion. VREG has successfully integrated with key stakeholders, enabling real-time, dynamic information exchange.”