…Commissions ANLCA National secretariat
The Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Architect Namadi Sambo has called for the amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) to provide for stiffer penalties for non compliant traders who under-declare their imports as well as smugglers whose activities were bent on short changing the government in order to discourage others from undertaking such ignoble act.
Sambo who was speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the 60th anniversary celebration and the commissioning of the ultra-modern permanent National Secretariat of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) in Lagos on Friday, described as ridiculous, the fines payable by offenders as provided for in the customs law.
Vice President who message was delivered by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Maritime matters, Mr. Leke Oyewole however applauded the provision in the Act which empowered the Service to impound and cause offenders to forfeit their import to the Federal government on grounds of sharp practices describing it as a right step in the right direction.
According to him,” I was going through the Act of the Customs and you find out that many offenses in the world that you commit and you better run away or your life will be committed to prison, you find that the fine is just #200. The highest you will find was #4000, they may have other ones that are hidden, I don’t know but I am telling you that in that Act and the only one which I subscribed to seriously has to do with their power to impound, to make people forfeit their items which is good”.
He however faulted the claims in some quarters that the Nigerian Port was one of the most expensive in the world arguing that such should not be the true position moreso as the rates and the tariffs collected by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigeria Customs Service or any other government agency in the nation’s maritime industry were the least anywhere in the world.
While admitting that the same may be true in the past when the turnaround time of vessels contributed to the delays in the ports thereby leading to high cost of doing business, Architect Sambo however said that that was in the thrash can of history as vessels no longer wait more than three day before leaving the shores of the country at present.
“But courtesy of the Customs, of the clearing agents, the turnaround time of ships in the country today has tremendously improved. Ships will come here, they leave in two days, three days. That is commendable”.
“So, we are talking about an association that has improved the operations in the maritime sector, the turnaround time of vessels like I said, improved significantly and what we are witnessing today is an evidence of cooperation that is also found in the customs”, the Vice President said.
Vice President Sambo therefore commended the Nigeria Customs Service for conceptualizing the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) which according to him was a strategy put in place by the service to enhance clearing processes in the port and ensure that the Nigerian nation was not cheated.
On his part, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar commended ANLCA in its 60th year anniversary and the commissioning of the Permanent National Secretariat saying that the celebration of the 60th anniversary by any association was a landmark achievement in its lifespan as well as an evident of sustainability of the purpose of the association over the years.
The Minister who was represented at the event by the Special Assistant Marine Operation in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Dikko Tahir Bala said the Federal government was aware of the critical role that ANLCA was playing in the nation’s revenue generation through the Nigeria Customs Service in drastically reducing the smuggling of contraband and other malpractices in the nation’s ports.
“In this regard, the Federal government remains resolute to collaborate with any organization in the maritime sector to enhance the realization of 48 hour cargo clearance target whose objective is to decongest the port, bring down cost as well as attract greater patronage with the ultimate goal of accelerating and facilitating the nation’s international trade”, the Minister said.
