The plan by the federal government of Nigeria to bar revenue-generating agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS from collecting revenues on it’s behalf and to introduce a single agency – Nigeria Revenue Service to handle the task has received the blessing of some prominent freight forwarders and port users in the Nigerian maritime industry.
This is as the immediate past Sole Administrator of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila has described the move as a welcome development even as he argued that this move, if implemented to the later, would enable particularly, the Nigeria Customs Service to go back to its original function which according to him is preventive Service.
“When I say preventive services, I mean that deterrent that helps nations to secure their borders. Customs should be more involved in security, securing the nation both at the borders and the territorial waters than targeting revenue and that is why our rating globally when you talk about trade facilitation is poor.
“This is because our customs has jettisoned security over revenue generation. And if you do your research, even in Africa, a lot of countries have – just Ghana, you can’t hear Ghana Customs Service but Ghana Revenue Authority and customs is subsumed within the Ghana Revenue Authority. Go to Gambia, it’s the same thing, even in UK, it is Royal Majesty Revenue and Customs and in America, it’s CBP – Customs Border Patrol. So, all you see about the American customs is about how they are holding people at the airport, holding people trying to come in through the tunnel.
“Because seamlessly, paying Customs duty is a tax. It should be transparent, it should be specific, it should be predictable and globally, those countries that have strong institutions to that level has made progress in the way they facilitate trade.
“So, if you ask me, that’s my opinion, it is a welcome development. After all, when this government came looking for money, it’s only customs that showed up that they can make more money and they have given the government of the day a course to think that if these guys could show up this capability, then what can we do more to see if we can make more money here?
“And I believe the government of the day must have done its due diligence and saw that they can still make more money there going this route. Most governments globally are now having tax collected by specific tax agencies subsuming several agencies working together and I believe that is what the government of the day wants to achieve. So, if you ask me personally, I think it’s a good idea”, Mukaila said.
On who collects duty payable on import across the seaports, airports and border stations should this new plan finally came to be, he said, “Customs has not been collecting duty. We pay to the bank, they account for it and take stock of what comes in. WCO (World Customs Organization) under revised Kyoto Convention said that customs protocol should be predictable, transparent and when there’s any issue that concerns penalty, there should be a means to appeal and the process of appeal should be very transparent too. All this is lacking presently.
“I want to believe that if government is going this way, I hope it will consult properly so that there should be transparency and predictability. What we have presently is anything goes, the focus is on the target for how much that must come in. Nobody can tell you clearly now that I have an appeal with customs and I can climb the roof and say, yes, because I am right, I have won this appeal. I want anybody to come and say that. Because you can’t be a judge and a jury in your own case and that is what we have in the Nigeria Customs Service today.
“So, if government has said let tax go to tax authority and let customs do its job, and what is the job of customs? It is to secure our borders first and foremost, apply penalty when someone wants to impair our security line not how much money you made per month.
“So, if government says, look, leave tax for the tax authority, and I believe the tax authority will not operate like they give you tax to go and pay and they turn around to say it not enough again. So, once we have transparency in the process, let the tax authority come and take the tax. Let some percentage of Customs officials work with the Revenue Authority, talking about how to determine tax payment and let majority of them deter those that want to engage in smuggling.
“When I started this job, customs was called Preventives, that was their name before a lot of changes and they are no more preventive but now revenue generation. So, if you ask me, I think it’s a very good development.”
On whether or not the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service would not operate in the same manner with NCS to squeeze out money from importers and their agents in a bid to make more money for the federal government, he said, “I am very optimistic about this country and I believe that we need to give everything and anything a trial. They cannot, because if you continue to do the same thing, be sure that you are going to get the same result. Let’s give the new arrangement a chance, let us know that look, this is a different ball game, let people come in and contribute ideas on how it should be.
“There should be a process to appeal and the Customs or the tax authority that is coming should do a lot more of sensitization because people need to know. The right to know the process is what trade facilitation is all about. If you don’t tell me, you don’t blame me.”
Photo: Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, Chairman, Mickey Excellency Nigeria Limited.
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