The Apapa Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that the major adjustments in the 2015 Common External Tariff (CET) is mainly to protect local manufacturing firms in Nigeria and protect them against the influx of foreign made goods.
The command equally noted that 177 items were placed under the Supplementary Protection Measure (SPM) to ensure that Nigerians manufacturing these items do not die.
The Apapa Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that the major adjustments in the 2015 Common External Tariff (CET) is mainly to protect local manufacturing firms in Nigeria and protect them against the influx of foreign made goods.
The command equally noted that 177 items were placed under the Supplementary Protection Measure (SPM) to ensure that Nigerians manufacturing these items do not die.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily in his office last week, ASYCUDA Project Manager (APM) of the Command; Deputy Comptroller Yussuf Malanta said that the adjustments in the 2015 CET is not a new thing, saying that every professional licensed customs agent, and their importers should ordinarily expect a change in government tariff yearly.
It would be recalled that the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) had last week kicked against the implementation of the CET, describing the 177 items under the SPM as a tool that will increase the suffering of Nigerians.
But speaking with our correspondent last week, Yussuf said that the CET is a regional tariff, but each country has its own priority to protect and implement.
He stressed that under the Supplementary Protection Measures, 177 items were given levies in order to protect the infant industries in competing with what is imported into the country, ranging from 5% to 60%.
"Every time there is an adjustment in the tariff, it is not a new thing in this industry, it is a fiscal policy, every importer and agent should expect a change in tariff every year"
"The CET is a regional tariff, every country has its own priority, your own priority cannot be my own priority, therefore government can decide that textile is banned in Nigeria, but this does not mean it is banned in Cotonou"
"The government also has the right to place duty on the textile to support local manufacturers; Cotonou might not have manufacturers, so it might allow textiles into its country. We have a lot of industries coming up while they don't have, so they can accept everything like that" he said.
Deputy Comptroller Yussuf argued further that stakeholders need not blame the Nigeria Customs Service in its attempt to implement the CET, according to him Customs is only implementing governments' policy.
"Customs did not bring the CET, it is a regional policy and not even a Nigerian policy, customs is only implementing the governments' policy"
"The region has sat down with a policy well-accepted by every region, and every region has its own priority, therefore if we allow importers to bring in cargoes with the same tariff line that Cotonou is bringing it in, it means that the people that are working here can never meet up, there will be retrenchment of workers".
Speaking on the possibility of smugglers having a free reign under the new CET, Deputy Comptroller Yussuf argued that there is no perfect system in the world.
According to him, Nigeria is the only country that does not have a border line, "in other countries, there is a fence demarcating the other countries, but this is the only country without boundary all over the world" he said.
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