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Tokunbo vs brand new: where the duty really differs
“Used cars pay less duty” is the common belief, and it is wrong in the way that matters: the duty rate is identical. The differences live in one levy and in the value every percentage rides on.
The split: duty 20% on both. NAC levy 5% used / 10% new (the new-car rate is reported, and flagged as such). Green Tax the same bands for both — which is why a large-engine new car stacks the 10% NAC on top of the 4% Green band and reaches the highest percentage in the system: 49.5% on the worked example below.
Two cars, one stack
The tokunbo: used, 2,494cc, CIF ₦12,000,000. Duty ₦2,400,000 · NAC 5% ₦600,000 · Green 2% ₦240,000 · surcharge ₦168,000 · ETLS ₦60,000 · FOB levy ₦408,000 · VAT ₦1,160,100 → ₦5,036,100, 42.0% of CIF. The new car: brand new, 4,460cc, CIF ₦40,000,000. Duty ₦8,000,000 · NAC 10% ₦4,000,000 · Green 4% ₦1,600,000 · surcharge ₦560,000 · ETLS ₦200,000 · FOB levy ₦1,360,000 · VAT ₦4,077,000 → ₦19,797,000, 49.5% of CIF. Five of the seven lines scale with value alone; the NAC split and the engine band are where “new versus used” actually bites. Price your own pair in the calculator — the condition switch is the first control.
Valuation treats them differently, too
A used car's assessed value comes off the VIN Valuation table at its year — an eight-year-old car is tabled as an eight-year-old car, and its owner's auction bargain (or overpayment) is irrelevant. A new car's value tracks its transaction much more closely: there is no “old car” discount in the table for a current-year vehicle, and the uplift risk that dominates used-car budgeting is smaller — replaced by the simpler fact that the starting value is high. The valuation guide covers the mechanics.
The age question, kept separate
Whether very old cars may be imported at all is a different question from what they cost — and it is genuinely unsettled in current reporting: a 12-year limit appears on the import prohibition list as reported in August 2026, while shipper guides maintain no age limit is enforced. This site does not price an age rule it cannot verify: the calculator asks for value and engine size, not year, and the rates page carries the eligibility question as a flagged open item with both positions sourced. If you are shipping an older car, settle eligibility with your agent before the car is on the water — it is the one question on this page where being wrong costs the whole car, not a percentage of it.
Questions
Is duty lower on a used car than a new one in Nigeria?
The duty itself — 20% — is the same. What differs is the NAC levy: 5% on a used car against a reported 10% on a new one (20% before July 2026), and the value everything rides on: a new car’s CIF is simply much larger, and its table valuation tracks its new-car price rather than an auction price. In percentage terms the stacks are close; in naira they are not.
Does a tokunbo car’s age reduce its duty?
Age enters through value, not through a rate: Customs’ table values a car by make, version and year, so an older car carries a lower assessed value and therefore a lower naira bill at the same percentages. There is no age-based discount rate — and current reporting conflicts on whether an age limit on imports is enforced at all, which is why the rates page treats eligibility as a flagged, separate question from the money.