Customs Committee, TinCan Command Chart Course For Improved Trade Facilitation At Seaport
By Abimbola Abdullah
The Customs Consultative Committee (CCC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tincan Command, has charted a course for an improved trade facilitation mechanism at the seaports.
This was achieved when the Customs Area Controller of the Tincan Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, paid a courtesy visit to the office of the CCC, in Lagos.
He was received by the Chairman Customs Consultative Committee, Hakeem Olarenwaju and the Secretary,
Eugene Nweke.
Olanrewaju drew the attention of the Customs’ boss to the wider negative impact of the unstable foreign exchange regime on trade general.
He also used the opportunity to enlighten the comptroller on the workings of the CCC and solicited for broader areas of strategic consultations in order to redefine operational bottlenecks in the ports.
The chairman highlighted noticeable red tapes in the supply chain and recommended eradication of such. He made recommendations for achieving policy goals of the Command in particular and the management of NCS in general.
In his response, the visiting Comptroller said his courtesy visit was informed by his belief that responsible partnerships and collaborations are incomplete without strategic mobilization and alliances.
Insisting that the annual revenue target of the Customs requires deliberate cooperation and the support of stakeholders, especially the trading public, Nnadi called for the support of CCC in achieving this for Tincan Command.
He commended the CCC for their support to the Command in 2023 while informing that the management of the Command was committed to the implementation of the key resolutions reached at the recent stakeholders meeting held during the Comptroller-General of Customs conference 2023.
He insisted that the management would not leave any stone unturned in pursuance to its trade compliance and facilitation quest.
To this extent, he called on the trading public to ensure compliance in their trade transactions and requisite trade related applications via prompt documentation and honest declaration.
He noted that going forward compliance traders will be rewarded with prompt service delivery, while sanctions on trade irregularities and breaches will be meted to the defaulting trading public (importer /exporter and their representative) as provided in the new Nigeria Customs Act 2023.
He equally stated that officers caught in the line of duty other than spotting and tackling trade infractions will be punished accordingly, to achieve holistic and meaningful compliance.
On the allegation that, the Service increased the benchmark for the surface payable Customs duty, Comptroller Nnadi reiterated that, at no time did the Service set nor increased any benchmark other than the reality of the foreign exchange rate regime, insisting that, once, the exchange rate drops, the payable surface Customs duty will as well drop.
