International Trade Advisory Services Limited (ITASL), an indigenous firm, said it provides technical and operational support that enables importers and exporters to comply with Customs and other regulatory matters, and in turn, reduces delays and costs of cargo clearing at the port.
Okey Ibeke, the principal consultant/CEO of ITASL, said the company provides advisory and trade dispute resolution services to manufacturers, multinationals, and other blue-chip companies through interpretation of laws and regulations, and giving product description, harmonised tariff codes, valuation, rules of origin, post-clearance among others.
According to him, importers often incur avoidable expenses due to delays in cargo clearing at ports caused by inadequate knowledge of trade laws.
While noting that the level of compliance to trade rules by importers in Nigeria is still very low, Ibeke urged importers to avoid trade malpractices such as under-declaration, undervaluation, wrong classification, and other related infractions, which results to delay in cargo clearance at the port.
“Sometimes some importers willfully refuse to comply with the rules and regulations while others do it out of ignorance. So, what we do is advise multinationals and corporate bodies on Customs processes and procedures. We advise them on how to classify imports so that when it lands, they would not have a problem with the Customs. When imports have issues, Customs will detain the goods pending the resolution of the dispute and such goods will incur demurrage and storage charges for the importer,” he said.
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Emphasising that Customs is increasing its focus on compliance verification audits, and valuation, Ibeke said the various methodologies in determining the value to pay as a duty for imports are sometimes complex, which is why ITASL offers assistance to companies in that direction to avoid financial penalties.
He said the company also helps clients to ensure the correct valuation method, the right pricing relationship with related and non-related vendors, and correct payment of duties.
Ibeke further said that the company also provides assistance to clients with export requirements to enable exporters to have a solid understanding of export controls and documented export compliance programmes.
Other services provided by the firm, according to him, include post-clearance audit and audit assistance; compliance assessment, process, and internal control design; training and support services; duty recoveries and rules of origin among others.
The trade expert said the company also guides manufacturers on how to exploit opportunities that abound in the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He urged the Nigerian trading public to avail themselves of the services of ITASL in order to avoid the consequences of non-compliance with the requirements of the free trade agreement.
“In addition to the benefits of reduced duty rates, free trade agreements (FTAs) can expose importers or exporters to a great deal of risk. To minimize risk, big importers who rely on duty savings need to ensure compliance with the legal requirements of international trade agreements. Free trade compliance also helps manufacturers and exporters to ensure their customer relationships are not harmed by compliance issues,” he added.
