The battleground for the amendment of the controversial Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) will shift to the Senate today as the Customs committee of the upper legislature holds public hearing on the Bill.
The public hearing comes about five months after a similar exercise was carried out at the House of Representatives, where stakeholders expressed divergent opinions on the Bill which seeks to repeal the 54 years old CEMA.
The battleground for the amendment of the controversial Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) will shift to the Senate today as the Customs committee of the upper legislature holds public hearing on the Bill.
The public hearing comes about five months after a similar exercise was carried out at the House of Representatives, where stakeholders expressed divergent opinions on the Bill which seeks to repeal the 54 years old CEMA.
Cited as a bill for an Act to repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act (2004) amendment and also reform the administration and management of Customs and Excise in Nigeria, the Senate gathering promises to bring together stakeholders, including; the Nigeria Customs Service, licensed customs agents, service providers and others.
A source close to the Senate committee told our correspondent last week that, the Senate is not likely to be swayed by the conclusions of the lower chamber, which allegedly did not take the submissions of stakeholders who attended its March, 2012 public hearing at the National Assembly.
The Senate public hearing is expected to seek inputs on some thorny issues, such as the correct status of the Customs against the backdrop of allegations that Customs currently operates within scattered legal framework and supporting laws, legal notices.
Some stakeholders have also argued that the subsisting CEMA does not provide a proper legal basis for applying important international agreements relating to customs procedures.
There have also been arguments about the issue of membership of the governing board of Customs and the continued position of the minister of finance as the chairman of Customs board.
Another issue which will raise concern and generate debate is the position of service providers within the context of inspection of Nigeria-bound cargoes.
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