…Wants revenue target for customs stopped
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has said that it will continue to plead with the federal government to encourage an open valuation system that should be a public document as well as stop giving revenue target to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The National President of ANLCA, Chief Iju Tony Nwabunike who made this disclosure in a paper presentation at a two day National Workshop on Boosting the Nigeria Economy with AfCFTA , organised by the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Lagos on Wednesday was happy that AfCFTA protocols would destroy the incidences of hidden valuation system and setting revenue target for NCS.
Nwabunike however maintained that giving customs a target every year by the federal government should be discouraged, even as he strongly believed that the Service had been overstretched thus Nigerians see them as not being friendly, a situation he believe should be revisited and allow the Customs to remain what they were supposed to be according to the standard of World Customs Organisation (WCO).
He said, “If the federal government provides a value benchmark as a means to standardized tariff charges, the misunderstanding may end. It is happening because government has encouraged it. Nigeria is the only country where customs is being given revenue target. Customs’ responsibility on import and other port levies are supposed to be administrative cost to cushion maintenance, logistics support and infrastructure provisions.
“What I want us to understand is that revenue collection from customs duty is a function of the volume of import. I have explained that since government changed the objective for which these duties and taxes are collected and made it a revenue system, it is high time the federal government takes a new approach to trade, if the Nigeria economy must benefit from the AfCFTA.
The ANLCA boss noted that the hard truth was that Nigerian government was still getting ready for it saying “I can say that categorically because if you consider the way import guidelines and procedures are turned out and implemented year in year out, one won’t look forward to AfCFTA with much excitement.”
He continued, “There has been a gradual, but steady distrust between customs officers and customs brokers over cargo value differences and the end is not in sight to this contention. Nigeria should position herself for the stiff competition in AfCFTA. We need to look into our import and export trade procedures. Import guideline and trade facilitation as it affects Nigerians and equally important should be looked into ranging from infrastructural deficit like electricity, roads networks, incentives to local manufacturers and farmers to multiplicity of government agencies as its affects trade and services.
“Also imperative is the attitudinal change of our importers and exporters must be a paramount issue to be frequently discussed at every fora. Most importantly and bearing in mind that everything borders on implementation and strict adherence to rules and regulations. The freight forwarders and customs brokers should have the same level of training on tariff and trade procedures. Hard decision should be taken against defaulters of the agreement.”
Nwabunike who is the former Chairman of the Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) observed that Nigeria, by virtue of her population and robust economy would be an attractive market from all kinds of goods under AfCFTA, urging that care should be taken to avoid using Nigeria as dumping ground by other sister countries.
“Local manufacturers as well as farmers should be encouraged to export their goods and services by providing the enabling environment. Customs should be encouraged to continue to safeguard Nigerian territorial boundaries and trade facilitations, security of goods in bound and out bound the country. Ease of doing business initiated by the federal government must be adhered to the later. All bottlenecks in clearing of goods and services must be streamlined for the borderless trade of AfCFTA.
“While, stimulation of local manufacturers must be encouraged, Nigerian government must be sensitive to unban some goods that are not made or being manufactured in Nigeria as of today.”
He noted that as customs brokers, their job were simply to facilitate trade to the point of need reiterating that “in this case we pledge allegiance to our clients in doing so” while assuring that a new face of customs brokers’ practice would emerged in the AfCFTA regime.
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