Apparently under pressure to meet the 2012 revenue target of N1Trillion, the Nigeria Customs Service may have incurred the wrath of licensed customs agents who are accusing the service of being too desperate to meet the unprecedented target.
At least two freight forwarding associations have expressed their opposition to the plan by the Customs to benchmark duty on some imported items, mostly electronics.
Apparently under pressure to meet the 2012 revenue target of N1Trillion, the Nigeria Customs Service may have incurred the wrath of licensed customs agents who are accusing the service of being too desperate to meet the unprecedented target.
At least two freight forwarding associations have expressed their opposition to the plan by the Customs to benchmark duty on some imported items, mostly electronics.
Over the weekend and at different for a, the duo of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers, Exporters Coalition frowned at the move.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed that the bone of contention is the decision by the Nigeria Customs Service that a 40- foot container will henceforth attract a custom duty based on a C.I.F value of N12.5Million, while a 20- foot container is to attract a customs duty based on a CIF value of N6.25m.
While the NAGAFF calls for further talks on the issue, the Save Nigeria Group pleaded with the federal government to reverse the decision taken by the Nigeria Customs Service on the introduction of a new benchmark of cost insurance and freight [CIF] per container of some imported items into the country
But NAGAFF, in a statement signed by its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, observed that the N2.5Million benchmark on 40-foot container of electronics goods and others should be reviewed downward in the interest of trade.
However, the National Coordinator, Safe Nigeria Group, Chief Osita Chukwu argued that the decision made by the Comptroller General of Customs will lead to breach of multi –lateral international agreement on trade facilitation, thus breach the national law on customs value of imported items.
He said that the comptroller General of Customs has defaulted in the decision which allegedly impugned on the Act of National Assembly stressing that the action was illegal and arbitrary which in turn lead to multiple effects to port operation.
‘’The Nigeria Customs Service has by a stroke of the pen revoked an Act of the National Assembly, that is, the Customs and Excise Management [Amendment ]Act No.20 of 2003,which provides that Customs duty shall be determined sequentially by reference of six methods’’.
Osita listed the method as: transaction value method, identical value method, similar value, method computed and fall back value method.
‘’Importers will not be able to clear goods imported into the country and may be tempted to abandon their goods in the port. Freight forwarders may be tempted to evade duty and fly containers out of the port. Congestion in the port will return as importers will take unnecessarily long periods to secure funds to clear their cargoes ‘’, he predicted.
He also added that with the decision, importers will be compelled to patronize other neighbouring ports which originally would have been collected by the Nigeria customs for economy growth.
‘’Nigeria- bound imports will be diverted to ports of neighbouring countries and then smuggled into the country through land borders ,there will be a complete erosion of the gain so far recorded in the current port reform and a legal and behavioural resistance of the decision may paralyze activities in the ports as corrupt officers of the Nigeria Customs Service in the face of the above will line their pocket with filthy wealth acquired through connivance with unscrupulous importers and freight forwarders at the expense of the federal government and the people of Nigeria ‘’Osita said.
He explained that the decision implies that the Certified Certificate of Value and Origin of goods [CCVO] will be redundant in determining the value of goods.
The group also said that for the customs duty valuation method to change, it will take the normal course of sensitizing all stakeholders in the industry adding that a bill must be duly presented before the National Assembly for public hearing.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the Customs Comptroller General, Alhaji Diko Abdulahi Inde had lamented at a meeting with the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) that the service was having difficulties meeting it monthly revenue target that was derived from the N1Trillion target for 2012.
He had consequently solicited the cooperation of ANLCA for the unprecedented target to be met.
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