Some government and private sector stakeholders have unanimously urged the Senate President, David Mark and the entire membership of the upper legislative chamber to stop the passage of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) that was recently passed by the House of Representatives.
Some government and private sector stakeholders have unanimously urged the Senate President, David Mark and the entire membership of the upper legislative chamber to stop the passage of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) that was recently passed by the House of Representatives.
Rising from a breakfast meeting put together by a non-governmental organisation (NGO); the Maritime Industry Advocacy Initiative(MAIN) in Lagos, the stakeholders averred that the process leading to the passage of the bill by the House of Reps was shoddy as none of them were carried along in the process, even as they pointed out that, the bill as passed by the lower chamber was in conflict with other extant legislation and functions of sister agencies of government like the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA),Standards Organisation of Nigeria(SON) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA).
Apart from distorting the present post- port concession arrangement between the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE), NPA and the concessionaires, the meeting which was attended by many stakeholders also argued that some amendments contained in the bill are obnoxious and not in line with international best practice. It was also feared that the bill, if passed into law will not be in the interest of the nation and her economy.
The stakeholders were from; NPA, SON, NAFDAC, Seaports Terminal Operators Association(STOAN),National Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture(NACCIMA),
NPA's General Manager in charge of Marine; Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu advised the Senate to consider the Ports and Harbour bill presently lying in the National Assembly side by side with the new version of CEMA and address various areas of duplication. He stated that the CEMA Bill is an attempt to cede the authority's landlord status as embedded in the Ports Act.
Representative of the SON Director General, Mr.YB Muhammad, described some aspects of the bill as an infringement on its responsibility which may cause delays in the goods clearance process at the ports and border stations. He noted that since Customs have no mandate to declare any product as being of acceptable standard or sub standard, a customs laboratory for testing (which the bill provides for) will create duplication and subject importers to avoidable delays. He added that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) should concern itself with importers' compliance with import guidelines, quantity and value of products for the purpose of detecting violation and collection of duty payments.
"Customs which has no mandate or the technical knowhow on quality control shall not prohibit SON from performing its quality and control mandate including performance of confirmatory tests,since this functions well beyond the scope of customs" he added.
The stakeholders also agreed to meet with the leadership of the National Assembly on the issue with a view to making the lawmakers come out with a legislation that will help achieve a modernized customs service and fashion-out laws that will advance the cause of the national economy.
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