ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Onne Customs poised to realise targeted revenue FEC tobacco control bill: BATN supports balanced regulation
As part of its revenue drive, the Nigeria Customs, Area 2 Command, Onne Port, Port Harcourt, penultimate Thursday organized a joint stakeholders meeting to enlighten both importers and agents on the new Customs modernization programme and announce its targeted revenue for the year 2014.
The Federal Government has given the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a target of N1.2 trillion for the year 2014. Out of this figure, Area 2 Command, Onne Port is to generate about N1.2bn within the period.
The NCS Controller, Area 2 Command, Alhaji Muhammed Magaji, in his opening remarks, said the modernization programme has transformed the NCS from the analogue stage to a fully ICTdriven institution. Magaji listed the innovations carried out by the NCS as including the introduction of the pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), which he said replaced the Risk Assessment Report.
He also talked about the new trade hub which gives stakeholders in the importation business accessibility to information. It also guided them on the rules and regulations of import, tariffs and other requirements. According to him the Nigeria trade hub is an introduction to international trade in Nigeria. “The new trade hub is an interactive portal to assist both importers and importers with obtaining correct and timely information to enable them make decisions about doing business in Nigeria. It also provides importers with the necessary information about all the government agencies required to liaise with to obtain the necessary import permits and certificates that would need to import and export products into and out of Nigeria,” he stated.
“Based on the product and transaction type selected, the portal will provide you with details, including the regulatory stakeholders of that particular product and transaction type, documents required, the cost of administering those documents, duties and tax payable,” he added.
Magaji explained that the introduction of the PAAR has gone a long way in facilitating trade and reducing physical interaction among Customs officials, importers and their agents, as most deals can now be done online at home.
He stated that Federal Government has approved the extension of the validity of the 20082002 common external tariffs with a period of another one year and charged both importers and agents to assist the Command in meeting its targeted revenue by ensuring compliance in their declaration.
Goodnews Alali, who is in charge of Customs evaluation appealed to agents to assist the NCS succeeds in its goals. “I have a target of recovering N60bn undeclared revenue. I have N6bn outstanding to recover. I have been mandated by Abuja to block the licence of any agent that fails to pay its revenue,” Alali said.
He said agents are given 14 days within which to pay up all their debts.
The Onne Ports branch chairman of Association of Nigerian Customs Licensed Agents (ANCLA), Theodore Ejezie commended the customs area Command for organizing the stakeholders meeting and assured the Command that its members would ensure compliance in their declaration.
British American Tobacco, the leading tobacco manufacturer in Nigeria, reacted to the decision by the Federal Executive Council to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, saying that it supports a balanced regulation of the tobacco industry.
According to Mr. Freddy Messanvi, BATN’s Director for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs for West Africa, the company’s position on regulation remains the same: British American Tobacco supports effective regulation of the tobacco industry. Messanvi explained that for regulation to be effective and achieve its objectives, it must be balanced and enforceable.
While the BATN maintains its support for tobacco regulation, the company has, however, asked that the drafting of tobacco control bills be clear of ambiguities in other for it to be enforceable.
The company had also maintained that tobacco control laws must ensure that the legal industry is not affected by such laws to the undue advantage of criminal tobacco smuggling rings. In the words of Freddy Messanvi: “We have not seen the bill yet, so we cannot make any comments on the proposals in the bill. All we can say at this point is that care should be taken to ensure that the proposals in the bill do not lead to unintended consequences; then the objectives for which such bills were passed will have been met.”
Mr. Messanvi alluded to the recent passage of the Lagos State Public Smoking Bill which he praised, saying the process for the passage of the Lagos State Bill was inclusive and not discriminatory in any form. “This is the ideal practice which must be emulated at all times,” he maintained.
The FEC on Wednesday April 9 agreed that an executive tobacco control bill should be sent to the National Assembly for consideration. The bill contains stiffer penalties for smoking in undesignated smoking areas than the Lagos State Smoking bill.