Customs Bars 2 Banks From Collecting Import Duty over Non-remittance N10bn

To ensure efficiency and integrity of the Customs Duty Collection system, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), yesterday, announced the suspension of two Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), from collecting import duty on behalf of the service.

The suspension was placed on the banks due to their inability to accurately and timely remit the essential funds for national development.

In a press statement by the national public relations officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, the acting Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the banks have been unable to meet Service-Level Agreements (SLAs), related to Customs Duty and statutory charge remittances.

The Customs boss, however, stated that the ban will be lifted after the deactivated banks meet all regulatory requirements and settle outstanding remittances.

The statement read, “In a significant development, the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has taken decisive action in response to selected Authorised Dealer Banks failing to meet Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) related to Customs Duty and statutory charge remittances.

“This decision followed a thorough audit and due process, aligning with the NCS’s commitment to upholding transparency, accountability, and efficiency in revenue collection. The primary objective is to ensure the accurate and timely remittance of Customs duties and other essential funds for national development.

“Despite the deactivation of these banks, the Comptroller General has implemented measures to minimise disruptions for importers and stakeholders within the trading ecosystem, however, assuring the trading community that all pending assessments will undergo clearance processes in line with international best practices.”

The Customs boss advised importers who rely on the DMBs for duty payment to make use of other approved financial institutions.

“Importers who previously relied on the deactivated banks for duty payments are advised to utilise other Authorised Dealer Banks that comply with NCS regulations. Stakeholders encountering challenges with a particular bank are encouraged to use alternatives that function appropriately.

“The deactivated banks will have the opportunity to be reactivated once they meet all regulatory requirements and settle outstanding remittances. Collaborative efforts with financial regulators and stakeholders are underway to ensure the efficiency and integrity of the Customs Duty Collection system.”

“The NCS places a priority on trade facilitation, putting stakeholders and Nigerian citizens first, even in the face of non-compliance by some Authorised Dealer Banks. This action underscores the NCS’s commitment to maintaining a fair and transparent customs revenue collection process,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), has appealed to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola to allow the agency collect Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) on wet cargoes.

The acting registrar of CRFFN, Chinyere Uromta, stated this when the minister visited her office as part of his working tour of agencies under the ministry.

According to her, collecting POF will boost the Council’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

“Following the removal of subsidy from the petroleum products, CRFFN should be allowed to collect Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) on wet cargo which is another source of IGR for the Council,” Uromta told the minister

She urged the federal government to review her decision on the discontinuation of funding for the Council by January 1, 2023.

According to her, without the intervention of the CRFFN in the freight forwarding subsector of the economy, Nigeria would have been delisted from the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations, FIATA.

Recalling that the Presidential Committee on Salaries, PCS had recommended that CRFFN be removed from federal government funding from January 1, 2023, the Registrar observed that the development was quite challenging as the Council’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR presently was not sufficient to fund its personnel cost.

“However, we are optimistic that given more collaboration and interface with relevant government agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Nigerian Ports Authority, Federal Ministry of Finance (Revenue Department) etc.

The Council shall surmount all problems affecting the collection of IGR which is in excess of N3 billion per annum.

“The government needs to allow us to get our revenue perfected to avoid what will affect Nigeria’s profile at the FIATA congress”, she stated.

The registrar opined that the auto deduct policy of the federal government which deducts 40 percent of the Council’s revenue at source in favour of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) was considered very high and had been affecting the Council’s capacity to meet up with its critical financial obligations as a result of her recent removal from personnel budget by January 2024.

“We are hopeful that the Budget Office of the Federation shall address this matter with a view to reviewing downwards the 40 percent remittance or complete removal of the same”, she added.

She, thereafter, called for the urgent amendment of the Act establishing the Council which she said portrayed it only as a professional body without capturing it as a regulatory agency of the federal government as well as an international regulatory body for freight forwarding standards set up by a United Nations and globally recognised body called the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations, FIATA.

“FIATA gives the curriculum for training of freight forwarders all over the world, they provide the certification standards through its Congress and various committees involving other United Nations entities like the World Trade Organization, WTO, IMO, ICAO etc. CRFFN interfaces with FIATA in terms of capacity development, certification, payment of national membership subscription, maintaining updated membership register of qualified practitioners where Shippers can easily access before contracting a freight forwarder.

“The Act that created the agency did not take cognizance of the fact that the agency’s core mandate was to regulate freight forwarding practice in Nigeria rather the Act provided for the agency as a professional body hence we are making a clarion call for urgent amendment of the CRFFN Act.

“Correcting the anomalies in the Council establishment laws, with the expanded Blue Economy mandate of the Ministry of Marine and the AfCFTA regime, we need an amended Act that addresses education, registration and regulation of the freight forwarding practice in Nigeria. The repositioning of the Council will definitely bring the sanity that is required in the freight forwarding industry and invariably also impact on revenue generated from our regulatory functions”, she submitted.