The Nigerian Customs Service on Tuesday officially launched the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) (2015-2019) together with its Supplementary Protection Measures (SPM) and 2015 Fiscal Policy Measures.
CET was established in 2013 to foster a common market and the removal of trade obstacles to free movement of persons and goods within West African countries.
Speaking at the launch in Lagos, Abdullahi Dikko, the Comptroller-General of Customs, represented by Mr Victor Gbemudu, said that he had directed immediate enforcement of the tariff provisions by all customs area commands.
He urged all stakeholders to ensure compliance with the new ECOWAS tariff.
“The approved Supplementary Protection Measures and Fiscal Policy Measures comprise of an Import Adjustment Tax (IAT) list which involves additional taxes on 177 tariff lines of the ECOWAS CET.
“It also includes a national list which consists of items whose import duty rates have been reviewed to encourage more development in strategic sectors of the economy.
“With the IAT, since we are in a transition period between now and 2019, importers would pay levies in the country they are importing from and the ones they export to pending when the CET is finally begun in 2020.
“It is also designed to help countries that have to adjust to a lower tariff structure to undergo a smooth transition to the CET when it is ready,’’Dikko said.
The President of ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Ouedraogo, assured member-countries that the leadership of ECOWAS would ensure the regulation of all the protocols of the CET in all member countries.
“I want to assure you that ECOWAS will make sure that the protocols of the CET will be enforced,’’ he said.
He advised that countries should make their ports comfortable enough to boost trade facilitation.
Muda Yusuf, the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), urged the service to publish a comprehensive soft copy of the tariff on the agency’s Website for stakeholders to access.
Yusuf also urged the government to put efforts together to fight dumping and faking of goods, which he said, was killing the Nigerian industries.
Dr Eugene Nweke, the President, Nigerian Association of Government-Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), urged stakeholders to invest in training programmes to meet up with the demands of full implementation of the CET.
NAN
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