Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR has warned importers and freight forwarders that the new Customs Act 2023 stipulates stiff penalties including six month-jail sentence for any deliberate infraction on the declarations of their import documentations.

Recall that the Customs and Excise Management Act CEMA, which is replaced by the new Act prescribed only N600 fine for such infractions, which experts believe is responsible for increasing cases of trade infractions such under declaration, over invoicing, under-invoicing, wrong classification and in many cases, concealment and outright smuggling, among others.

Speaking at the Silver Jubilee Anniversary celebration of the League of Maritime Editors LOME, in Lagos, Thursday on the theme: ‘Harnessing Nigeria’s Potential in Marine and Blue Economy/the New Customs Act and its Implication on Trade’, the Comptroller General noted that the new legislation also introduced several reforms that would boost trade facilitation if strictly implemented.

Represented by the Customs Area Controller for the Tin Can Island Port Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, the CG noted that the new act strongly frowns at incidences of deliberate infractions by the traders and has therefore introduced statutory mechanisms to curb incidences by stipulating stiff penalties, including six-month jail sentence.

According to him, relevant sections of the new act provides that in an established case of deliberate infraction on the part of the importer or his licensed customs agent or freight forwarder, the culprit is expected to be issued with debit note to the tune of the short-changed value, 25per cent of the unpaid value as fine, another fine of N2million flat and could also be liable to a prison term of not less than six months.

Highlighting some of the reforms and innovations in the new act, the CG said: “The role of the Nigeria Customs Service has moved from revenue collection to management of trade, providing cross border security, among several others. The CEMA, which was originally enacted in 1955, became obsolete in managing trade in the current global trade dispensation and so the Nigerian government in its wisdom came up with the new act that brought several innovations.

“For instance, sections 78-82 of the new act talk about rules of origin and evidence of origin while section 109 designates the Nigeria Customs Service as an Economic Authority, which empowers it to simplify trade. Section 134-141 talk about Economic Zone Procedures while sections 166-167 deal with travellers and travelling requirements.

“Section 168 deals extensively on the protection of intellectual rights, which covers physical products/goods, songs, videos and even write-ups by you members of the media profession, while sections 193-197 talk about manufacture of carbonated drinks.”

He however listed some of the challenges that may hamper the realisation of the objectives of the act to include the lack of adequate infrastructure, need for effective implementation and the need to build human capacity for the officers and men of the service, among several others.

The CG also recommended strongly that the government should invest in port infrastructure to make the nation’s seaports efficient and competitive. He also charged the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to take urgent steps to develop the country’s shorelines into tourist attraction centres like what is obtained in Cotonou Port in the Republic of Benin and Lome Port in Togo.

On the recent hike in the value of import duty, he attributed the development on the fluctuations in the exchange rate, which he said is beyond the control of the service.

He disclosed that such fluctuations have become more noticeable since July this year when the exchange rate moved from N775 per dollar to N778 to the dollar. He noted that everyone woke up Monday this week to the reality that the exchange rate had risen to N951.41 per dollar.

He however assured importers and their agents that the service would make up through efficient service delivery by ensuring that consignments are cleared promptly without incurring demurrage, insisting that the service was available and willing to partner relevant stakeholders to ensure that the country harnessed her vast marine and blue economy potential.