FG DUMPS NEW CUSTOMS BILL

There appears to be more troubles for the Nigeria Customs Service as confirmations have emerged to the effect that the highly controversial new Customs Bill may never see the light of the day.

Even though the House of Representatives and the Senate is done with it and passed to the President for his assent, our correspondent confirmed authoritatively last week that both the Presidency and the Finance Ministry are yet uncomfortable with the Bill.

There appears to be more troubles for the Nigeria Customs Service as confirmations have emerged to the effect that the highly controversial new Customs Bill may never see the light of the day.

Cited as a Bill for an Act to repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), 2004 and other Customs and Excise laws, the 217-page bill seeks to reform the administration and management of Customs and Excise in Nigeria and to bring the CEMA Act of 1958 in line with modern day best practice.

Shipping Position Daily confirmed that, on the strength of what is seen as the overambitious nature of the Bill, the supervisory ministry of finance has been directed to commence fresh moves to seek stakeholders’ fresh inputs.

A senior source at the Ministry told our correspondent that the “Bill has been returned to the appropriate organs of government for a second look”.

Even though he refused to state clearly where the Bill is at the moment, he never-the-less confirmed that the President was made to see reasons for the Bill not to be signed into law, the passage by National Assembly notwithstanding.

But, a member of the House committee on Customs, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that the return of the Bill has not been announced by the House leadership.

“You know I can not talk on it (the Bill) because it has not been mentioned at plenary”, he told our correspondent.

He however hinted that the National Assembly may frown at the decision of the Presidency to rework the Bill.

He also hinted that the fate which befell the Customs Bill may be a fallout of the personality and the approach of the Customs Comptroller General; Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi Inde, whom he described as pursuing the amendment as if it was a personal endeavor.

Shipping Position Daily recalls that, while presenting the final draft of the Bill at the Senate last year, the chairman of the House Committee on Finance; Senator Ahmed Makarfi, that its final recommendations were based on inputs from stakeholders. It also expunged certain provisions that were considered ‘offensive’.

For instance, the Committee in the new draft proposed an amendment of Clause 31 (1), which deals with the power of the Comptroller-General of Customs to designate customs control zone.

The new draft proposed that the Board should have the power to designate areas within and outside the customs territory as customs control zone.

It also touched on the controversial membership and headship of the Customs board, and inserted the Authourity of the President through the Finance Minister to superintend over the Nigeria Customs Service.

However, an industry source told our correspondent in Abuja last week that, the whole essence of wanting to rework the Bill is to stop the autonomy that is being sought by the Customs. “The Presidency is conscious of the fact that if the Bill is passed like that, it may have created another Central Bank of Nigeria that may be difficult to control”.

Shipping Position Daily recalls that, this fear was hinted at by the Finance Minister; Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala when she appeared before the Senate during the public hearing on the Bill.

She had said that the bill vested too many powers in the Customs at the expense of the president and the minister.

“Many of the powers of the president that are granted in the former bill have now been rescinded and many of the powers of the minister in the former bill have also now been rescinded,” she had said.

“You can’t have an organization having the large powers to appoint members