Foluso Phillips, President, Nigerian-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday in Lagos called on regulatory bodies to beef up their campaign against smuggling.
He stressed that the phenomenon was on the rise because the regulatory bodies were not as firm as they should be.
“So when you talk about fake products, I will turn around and say it behooves on the Customs and NAFDAC to do their work.
“If they do their work, they will identify that these products are fake, or they are not proper, and therefore the ability of these products to be brought into the country is stopped.
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“You can’t blame those who take advantage of our laxity; the policy on importation must be based on the fact that one is the product allowed into the country.
“Two, have we collected the regular duties and so on, and three, is the product the right specification, and is it as ordered by the individual.
“It is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that this is done before payment is allowed.”
He said that smuggling of clothes, fake cosmetics and banned products had choked up the Nigerian market and made business difficult for local entrepreneurs and manufacturers.
(NAN)
