The house committee, happy with the recent amendment to the customs and excise law, promised to strictly monitor the revenue generation and remittances of the customs service
Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise said it will provide a strict oversight over the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to ensure enhanced revenue generation and remittances to public coffers.
Rep. Leke Abejide (ADC, Kogi), Chairman of the Committee, made this declaration at the inaugural meeting of the committee on Wednesday in Abuja.
The lawmaker also said that the House intends to conduct periodic reviews of the Customs and Excise law to ensure that it remains relevant and effective in the face of changing economic and technological landscapes, saying the recent amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Act was a major milestone in efforts to streamline customs procedures, enhance trade facilitation, improve revenue generation, and promote economic growth.
According to Abajide, “The new CEMA Act repealed the 63-year-old Customs law which provides among others for the appointment of the Comptroller General of Customs from among serving officers of the service not below the rank of Assistant Comptroller General.
“Under the new Act, the NCS now has access to increased revenue via a new financing model of 4% FOB, thus enabling it to operate more effectively and efficiently. The new Act also introduces a robust e-commerce system, aligning the NCS with global digital trends and promoting rapid revenue generation and ease of doing business. Another notable milestone of the Act is the establishment of a clear leadership structure for the Nigeria Customs Service.
“This is achieved by enabling a career officer, at least at the rank of Assistant Comptroller General as the Comptroller-General of Customs to be appointed by the President of Nigeria. This stands in contrast to the previous Act, which lacked clarity on leadership, resulting in such appointments from the civilian and military backgrounds in the past”.
He further pointed that the 10th Assembly has the rigorous task of ensuring that the customs law is implemented effectively for the benefit all, adding that the committee “will closely scrutinize the NCS’s revenue collection and remittance processes to ensure that all customs duties and levies are promptly accounted for and remitted into the Federation Account.”
