Nigerian Customs Service Calls For Support From Importers On Cross-Border Trade

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has called for support from the business community toward enhancing cross-border trade.
Mr Adesina Odunmbaku, an Assistant Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), made the remark at the 15th Annual General Meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN).
He noted that many businessmen, especially importers, do not comply with custom guidelines on the importation of goods.
“Integrity is a rare virtue in many entrepreneurs importing goods into the country.

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has called for support from the business community toward enhancing cross-border trade.
Mr Adesina Odunmbaku, an Assistant Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), made the remark at the 15th Annual General Meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN).
He noted that many businessmen, especially importers, do not comply with custom guidelines on the importation of goods.
“Integrity is a rare virtue in many entrepreneurs importing goods into the country.
“They refuse to meet up with prescribed standards on importation and they make manufacturers undervalue their consignments, in order to evade customs duties and levies," he said.
Odunmbaku noted that the NCS had introduced a system that allowed verification and documentation of imported goods before they are shipped into the country.
He said that the system, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), would speed up clearing processes at the ports, thereby ensuring a more efficient and faster trade facilitation.
The ACG noted that the NCS was focused at meeting international best practices by ensuring border security and efficient clearing of goods, for the benefit of businesses, rather than being a revenue generating agency.
Earlier, in his address, the Chairman, ICCN, Mr Babatunde Savage, expressed optimism that Nigeria's recently-rebased economy would enhance the growth of the nation’s per capita income which currently stands at 1,600 dollars.
He noted that government's effort to address the issues of lack of funding and inadequate infrastructure for business growth had yielded little results, owing to policy inconsistency and implementation problems.
Savage also said that there was an urgent need to address the problem of insurgency, which had dampened the confidence of investors in the country.