By Adetutu Audu
The Nigeria Customs Service has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to permanently confiscate three aircrafts linked to Sayyu Dantata reports thegazellenews.com.
Thegazellenews.com gathered that the Customs Service decided to take the legal option over an alleged unpaid import duty of N2.312 billion about $1.75 million
However, it has been noted that the aircrafts are worth far more than the claim.
Customs told the court that the duty rate applicable was 5% of value, which implies the three are together worth about N46.3 billion roughly $35 million, on the service’s own arithmetic.
The three aircrafts are: a 2011 Beechcraft King Air 350i with serial number FL-750, a 2013 Gulfstream G550 with serial number 5455, and a 2018 Robinson R66 helicopter.
The Gulfstream is the most valuable, with comparable models of that vintage listed internationally at close to $30 million.
Dantata founded MRS Holdings, the downstream petroleum group that runs fuel stations across Nigeria, and is a half-brother of Aliko Dangote and a member of the Kano-based Dantata business family. The motion also names Bestaf Services and Metro Capital as respondents.
Customs alleges the aircraft were brought into Nigeria without declaration, permit, approval or payment of the required duty, and that the respondents misrepresented or failed to declare their actual purpose and status on entry. It says permanently based private aircraft attract import duty, and that a recent private-aircraft verification exercise uncovered the shortfall.
Dantata is not the only wealthy Nigerian caught by the verification exercise.
Customs has separately pursued Folorunsho Alakija’s Famfa Oil over aircraft held in Nigeria, in a case involving an alleged 8.85 billion naira in unpaid duty, which suggests a systematic review of privately owned jets rather than a single action.
The proportion is what stands out here.
Customs is seeking to take aircraft worth about $35 million on its own calculation, over a duty claim of roughly $1.75 million, because the statute makes goods brought in without proper declaration liable to forfeiture rather than simply to a bill. The case has been adjourned to Oct. 22 for continuation of hearing. -via Billionaires.Africa
