The House of Representatives has repealed the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap.C45, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enacted the Nigeria Customs Service Bill, considered the first comprehensive legislation for the sector in the last 63 years.
This followed the consideration and adoption of the report by the House committee on customs and excise by the committee of whole chaired by Ahmed Idris-Wase, the deputy speaker, at plenary on Tuesday.
Leke Abejide, chairman, the House committee on customs and sponsor of the bill, said it was the first major reform in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) legal framework in 63 years, stressing that the old Act has become obsolete in today’s competitive global world.
The lawmaker argued that a review of the act seeks to reposition the NCS for improved efficiency and service delivery as full automation of the NCS with modern reality will facilitate trade, improve revenue generation and more importantly, expose illegal importation of arms and ammunition into the country.
He stated that various innovations would be made possible when the bill becomes an act or signed into. These include the collation of all customs and excise legislation into a single compendium of customs and excise act to facilitate easy reference and easy knowledge-driven customs and excise policies.
Read also: Bank customers groan over multiple charges
“This Bill when it becomes an Act will position Nigeria Customs Service to be financially stable and this will enable NCS to recruit the required number of officers they need to man our porous border stations. The Nigeria Customs Service currently has 15,349 officers instead of 30,000 officers needed for it to function optimally.
“The current 7 percent cost of collection from the duties payment is not enough to pay salaries of officers, not to talk of improving the infrastructures. For this reason, this bill provides for a funding system based on 4 percent FOB, according to international best practice, to address
funding problems and to reposition the service for improved efficiency and service delivery, as such 7 percent cost of collection shall cease to exist the moment this Bill becomes Law,” Abejide stated.
Addressing journalists after the adoption of the report, the sponsor said the collection of excise duties on all carbonated drinks now captured in the bill for the Nigeria Customs Service has adequate legal backing to function.
He said “developments injected into this Bill is sufficient to implode economic development, facilitation of trade and greater revenue generation in tandem with the goal and target given to the Nigeria Customs Service in view of the fiscal independence and autonomy our economy is yearning for.
“The most innovative inclusion into this Bill is the objectives of eradicating problems of corruption, fraud and malpractices together with inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in the operation of the service, which has hindered the desire to contribute maximally to the economic development of the nation;
“Finally, this Bill is in tune with ICT development which is going to give the service the ICT demand it requires for its operations in line with international best practice.”
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp