The House of Representatives on Tuesday took a major step to enable the Nigeria Customs Service to generate more revenue when it passed a bill to repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act, 2004 to second reading.
The bill to Enact an Act to Establish the Nigeria Custom Service Act, 2021, sponsored by Leke Abejide, Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise also seeks to make it easier to hire more personnel.
The Nigeria Customs Service has only 15,349 Officers, instead of 30,000 needed for the Service to function optimally as the current 7% cost of collection from duties payment is not enough to pay salaries of officers but Bill proposes for an additional funding system based on 4% free onboard global best practice.
When passed into law, the Bill will provide stiffer punishments for offenders to act as deterrence for serious economic crimes of Customs and Excise oriented, thereby encouraging more revenue in the area of fine payment.
Leading debate on the general principles of the proposed amendment, the sponsor, Leke said, the need for a holistic overhaul of the country’s Customs and Excise legislation cannot be overemphasized in view of its contribution to fiscal and national policy development.
Read also: Amaechi calls for review of freight forwarding bill to improve businesses in Nigeria
He noted that since 1958, more than half a century ago, the Nigeria Customs and Excise Management Act has not undergone any major reform, hence the Act, its regulations, and its operational guidelines are archaic, obsolete, and no longer in tandem with modern day challenges, therefore, reducing the accruing revenue against the volume of trade.
The lawmaker explained that the collection of excise duties on all carbonated drinks is now captured in the Bill for the Nigeria Customs Service to have adequate legal backing to function in the area, in line with the recently enacted Finance Act 2020 for smooth operation.
“The most innovative inclusion into the Bill is the objectives of eradicating problems of corruption, fraud and malpractices together with inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in operation of the service, which have hindered the desire to contribute maximally to the economic development of the nation.
“Furthermore, the injection of provisions driven from stakeholders’ advice and experiences shall bring measures to eradicate fraud and smuggling activities for full collection of revenue due, timely from Customs and Excise duties.
In accomplishing this task this Bill is in tune with ICT development, thereby giving the Service the ICT demand it requires for its operations in line with International Best Practice.
“This would ensure a model that can think a thousand times faster and more efficiently than humans do, this digitalization of Nigeria Customs Service with the already embraced innovative solutions to trades across emerging markets. As a result of this, Nigeria Customs Service may record higher revenue in 2022,” he argued.
