Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has raised concerns that the proposed tax reform bills currently under consideration could create jurisdictional conflicts and effectively legislate the agency out of existence.
Speaking at a public hearing organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, on Wednesday, Adeniyi presented key objections outlined in a 17-page memorandum, warning that the bills, if passed in their current form, could override existing laws, including the Nigeria Customs Service Act of 2023.
He specifically cited Section 1 of the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill 2024, which provides a legal framework for tax and revenue administration under any law, while Section 42 defines tax to include all duties and revenues accruing to the government. Adeniyi argued that this provision effectively absorbs the functions of the NCS as outlined in Sections 3 and 4 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, thereby undermining the agency’s legal foundation. He further pointed to Sections 23, 29, and 41 of the Joint Revenue Bill as areas of potential jurisdictional conflict.
“Basically, these are jurisdictional conflict issues. Section 1 of the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill seeks to completely legislate the Nigeria Customs Service out of existence, if you pardon my words,” he stated.
Adeniyi also expressed concerns over Section 4 of the Revenue Service Bill, which grants the proposed Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) sweeping oversight functions over all taxes and levies. He warned that such provisions could nullify previous legislations carefully designed to address economic and trade-related issues.
In response, he urged lawmakers to ensure that any new revenue-related legislation promotes collaboration rather than eliminating the Customs Service.
“The principal recommendation we made was to encourage collaboration and integration of operations between Customs and the tax authority, not to abolish Customs or repeal the law just because a new one is being considered,” Adeniyi stated.
Emphasizing the extensive resources and effort invested in enacting the Nigeria Customs Service Act less than two years ago, he appealed to the National Assembly to allow the law to stand.
“Our prayer is simple. A lot of effort and resources have gone into the enactment of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023. We plead with the Assembly to let the law stay,” he urged.
