By Sunny Anderson Osiebe..
On November
9, 2016, the 8th Senate will consider legislation to reform the
administration and management of the customs and excise system in
Nigeria. The bill, the Customs and Excise Management Act establishes a
new Nigeria Customs Service and repeals other customs
and excise legislation.
The bill
creates a Custom and Excise governing Board to oversee the
administration of the Customs Service. The Board shall be responsible
for formulating the general policy guidelines and
matters pertaining to the governance assessment and collection of
revenues.
Speaking
on the development, the Senate President (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki,
stated that, “The Senate identified the Customs and Excise Act as one of
its 11 priority economic bills because
of its implications for promoting Nigeria’s international trade."
“It is
important that this legislation be viewed as a vehicle to advance
Nigeria’s trading opportunities given the significance of expanded trade
for diversifying our economy,” he said.
The
legislation allows for the employment of electronic systems and for the
exchange of information between the Customs Service, agencies of the
Federal Government and traders. With the passage
of the bill, the Customs Service shall ensure that all relevant
information of a general nature pertaining to customs matters are made
publicly available on the Customs Service’s website and other designated
platforms.
“The
advent of a internationally standardised and technological Customs
Service is a step in the right direction for reorienting our economy,”
the Senate President stated, “The proposed Customs
Service will have the authority to police our borders and work
cooperatively with other agencies to promote transparency. This
legislation is forward-leaning, timely and reflects the many ideas the
National Assembly is enacting to get our economy moving.”
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