Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Association of National Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has inaugurated a compliance team to fight against non-compliance and illegal practices among stakeholders in the maritime industry. This is even as it has vowed to stamp out and expose non-conformists in the system.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Compliance team at a recent event in Lagos, the President of the Association, Chief Tony Nwabunike, noted that non-compliance in the sector has manifested through under-declaration, undervaluation, false declaration, deliberate application of wrong Harmonized System (HS) Code to evade accurate duty payments and outright smuggling, which have resulted in seizures and arrests.
According to him, over 30% of revenue collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) was achieved via interventions such as demand notices, which are, most times, fallouts of non-compliance.
He further spoke about Customs administration subgroups like: Federal Operations Unit, Strike Force, Customs Police, and other agencies who chase after already released containers, thereby causing avoidable delays and increasing the cost of doing business.
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The newly-inaugurated compliance team, led by Alhaji Lamin Aliyu, vowed to stamp out non-conformity and deviant behaviour, ensuring that agents and stakeholders act appropriately, to create a healthy work environment at the ports.
The high points of the event saw the appointment of Alhaji Femi Anifowoshe and Mazi Ibekwe Nnamdi as the Zonal Coordinator and Secretary of the West Zone, respectively. These positions had been vacant for about three years.
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