The Senate Committee on Customs and Excise said on Thursday that it is the responsibility of the terminal operators to provide scanners for the Nigeria Customs Service.
The Committee also stated that the National Assembly is already working towards passing new legislations for the Customs to enable the agency operate in line with international best practice.
Chairman Senate Committee on Customs and Excise; Senator Hope Uzodimma said that the terminal operators should provide scanners as enshrined in the concession agreement, otherwise the Senate will be forced to replace them with investors who are willing to provide the all-important equipment.
Uzodimma maintained that with the current economic downturn, the customs cannot use hard-earned revenue to procure scanners for its operations, adding that trade facilitation is a core function of the Nigeria Customs Service. He stated that the Senate was interested in reducing the cost of doing business at the ports.
According to him, "the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is the operators of the seaports, but in the operating agreement, it is responsibility of the NPA to transfer to the concessionaires and they have to play the role of the NPA"
"And NPA become the regulators, so why should the government that is already in recession begin to borrow money to buyer scanners that the terminal operators are supposed to buy".
"We from the senate are looking at it from a different perspectives because the position of law protect us and we will hide on that and enforce it and those that are not ready to buy the scanners, will have to leave and we will bring people that are ready to buy the scanners to come do business in Nigeria", he maintained.
He said that the Nigerian government will review the agreement and it is also going to access performances of the concessionaires and those that are not living up to expectation may have to leave "
"By the CEMA Act 31 which we operate, it is the terminal operators that provide facilities and equipment "
"Why is it that they did not tell the Customs to buy folk lifts and cranes ; these are facilities that are provided under the laws, but unfortunately government concession the ports from NPA to these unserious terminal operators. "
"The Nigerian government will take a review to look at some of the agreement and we are going to look at performance of the operators and those who have not performed to expectation, their concession agreement will be cancelled", he threatened.
In another round of meeting with terminal operators, shortly after the session with customs agents and freight forwarders, the committee chairman told the concessionaires that the upper chamber instructed the committee to look at how to boost revenue generation.
He urged the concessionaires to drop copies of the concession agreement with the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Zone ‘A’, and also report their assessment performance in the documents.
"In the history of Nigeria we want to do what is right for once and government is trying to open new frontiers to collect more revenue" , he said.
Responding, representatives of the terminal operators based in Lagos who were also in attendance promised to submit the relevant document to the office of the ACG.
Also, in a private meeting with customs officers at the Apapa command, the Senate demanded a detailed revenue profile of the Apapa Area command of the Nigeria Customs Service in the last three years.
It also ordered the command to ensure that seizures recorded in the last three years were accounted for.
Also speaking, Co-ordinator Nigeria Customs Service in Charge of Zone A, Mr Charles Edike,earlier said that in spite of dwindling importation, revenue collection of the Apapa command has been impressive.
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