SNFFIEC Utters Discontent with Customs Benchmark

The self imposed revenue target for year 2012 by the Nigeria Customs Service running in trillions of naira has continued to pitch it against stakeholders in the sector. Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the agents under the auspices of Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC) are dissatisfied with the adopted benchmark measures by the customs to reach the target. They rated the procedure as capable of undermining the nation’s law on valuation. Although, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, the comptroller general of customs (CGC), had a stakeholders parley recently declared that the three core areas of revenue drive, smuggling and participation on international trade mount daunting tasks on the Service, however, other key players in the industry are crying foul on the manner the targets were being pursued. In a statement made available to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek and endorsed by Chukwumalu Emeka, the national secretary, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC) said the current Nigeria Customs Service initiative of Bench Mark Valuation (BMV) is discriminatory and arbitrary as it applies to only 26 items of imported goods. “Nigeria Cusatoms Service cannot justify the introduction of bench mark valuation with the excuse that by so doing 48 hour clearance time line policy will be met.,” the statement read. The body alleged that the real reason for the bench mark initiative was the anxiety of the NSC to meet its Two Trillion Naira (N2t) revenue target for 2012. “SNIFFIEC is saying that if the imperative of meeting revenue target should not undermine our national law on valuation, then it is advised that the Nigerian government should declare a state of emergency on our national revenue which will effectively suspend all law on rates, taxes and levies. “The management of the Nigerian Customs Service is aware that it is introducing an illegal regime that is why it has scaled down the amount it imposed on its BMV on some items from its earlier announced value of N12.5 million per 40ft container to N10 million per 40ft container while at the same spreading the reduction over an alleged list of 26 items from the earlier list of 11 items. “The result of continued imposition of BMV is that importers will abandone their goods in the ports,” he decried. In a swift response, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, the CGC denied the alleged imposition of Bench Mark Valuation (BMV) on importers, expressing that the Service only issued Bench Mark on Cargoes. “The issue of bench mark was misunderstood. And many agents in the maritime sector are mischievous, thereby circulating false information to the people. Some have even petitioned President Jonathan. “We must withstand paying lip service to the authorities. The maritime industry is a big family that needs the assistance of all stakeholders to move on. For instance, we have the challenges of revenue generation, smuggling and participation in international trade; so, running after containers means that something is either wrong with the Customs operations or that the stakeholders have failed. Dikko affirmed that the Service introduced the Bench Mark on Cargoes (BMoC) to ensure that businesses thrive, while importers pay the necessary duties. Against that backdrop, the management of customs has introduced an incentive that any importer whose clarifications, declarations and duties payment are up standard five consecutive times will be rewarded.