Bill on Customs Reform Passes 2nd Reading

The thrust for a review of the Nigeria Customs Service operations gathered momentum at the lower the National Assembly recently, following the lower chamber endorsement of the Customs Bill to go for a second reading. Apparently, the bill seeks to consolidate in a single reference document, the NCS legal authorities, which are dotted in multiple legislations. It also aims to bring the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) of 1958, in line with the modern day reality. Leading the debate on the bill to repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act (2004) amendment and also reform the administration and management of Customs and Excise in Nigeria, Hon Leo Ogor, deputy majority leader, House of Representative, observed that the CEMA did not provide for the establishment of the NCS. According to him, the NCS operated within scattered legal framework and supporting laws, as well as legal notices meant to complement the existing laws. “CEMA does not provide a proper legal basis for applying important international agreements relating to customs procedures,'' he said. Ogor added that an initial gap analysis of CEMA conducted in 2009 found the law to be severely lacking with respect to the World Customs Organisation’s revised Kyoto Convention. However, the bill, if passed into law, would substantially enhance revenue generation and facilitate trade in the country. According to Ogor, a transparent situation would require all enabling laws guiding the operations of the service to be consolidated in one document, hence the need to repeal the existing legal structure for the NCS to fit in the contemporary practices. Hon Dakuku Peterside while speaking on same vein affirmed that if reformed, operations of the Nigeria Customs Service would improve and revenue generation would also increase. He said that the reform would bring sanity to the modalities for collecting revenue not backed by the existing law. However, Andrew Uchendu moved that issue of governing council for the service should be examined at the committee level to do away with bureaucratic bottlenecks. He stressed that retaining the office of the Minister of Finance as the chairman of the council still pitches the NCS on bureaucratic ground. “We should give the headship of the board to an experienced Nigerian,’’ he said. The bill was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Customs for further debate and other actions which may include a public hearing soon.