Following the recently- introduced duty benchmark on some items by the Nigeria Customs Service, a maritime activism group, the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers, Exporters Coalition has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the nation’s seaports on account of the Customs action.
Following the recently- introduced duty benchmark on some items by the Nigeria Customs Service, a maritime activism group, the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers, Exporters Coalition has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the nation’s seaports on account of the Customs action.
Deputy National coordinator of the group ,Barrister OsualaNwagbara in a chat with journalist last weekend ,said the call was necessary as the benchmark valuation by the customs is strange to Nigeria port system, adding that the decision is illegal and also contrary to the law.
According to him, ‘’SNFFIEC is saying that if the imperative of meeting revenue target should determine our national law on valuation ,then it is advised that the Nigeria government declare a state of emergency on our national revenue which will effectively suspend all laws on rates ,taxes and levies.’’
‘’The management of Nigeria Customs Service is aware that it is introducing an illegal regime, that is why it has scaled down the amount it imposed on as its Benchmark valuation on some items from its earlier announced value of N12.5million on 40 foot container to N10million per 40 foot container while at the same time, spreading over an enlarged s list of 26 items from the earlier list of 11 items’’.
Osuala warned that if urgent action is not taken to caution the Customs, the benchmark may lead to high cost of doing business in the port and the nation at large.
According to him, the aftermath of the initiative will result to a situation where importers will abandon their containers or goods in the ports for the customs to auction such containers at a very low cost to undisclosed persons.
He explained that the action by the Customs is also arbitrary and discriminatory as it applies to only 26 items of imported goods, thus the Customs cannot justifies the action with the excuse of meeting the 48- hour clearance of cargoes from the seaports.
The maritime lawyer said that the benchmark valuation will send a wrong signal to the international community that Nigeria is a place with lawlessness, chaos and anarchy reigns, stressing that the there is a law on valuation to guide importers.
‘’If the government wants to change the law, there are processes and procedures for changing the law which will go through the processes of amending the legislature’’, Osuala added
On his part, National Secretary General of the group, ChukwumaluEmeka said that the Nigeria Customs Service is only being anxious about meeting the N1Trillion target, hence the benchmark.
Chukwumalu called on the federal government to intervene and stop the benchmark valuation that imposed by the Customs on importers and clearing agents, stressing that, if it is allowed, in 2012, port operations will suffer.
Discussion about this post