CBN made us lose N230bn in 2015, says customs CG

Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigeria customs service (NCS), on Tuesday said some policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made the service lose N230 billion in the last quarter of 2015.

Ali made the disclosure during a consultative forum between customs and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) at the Customs Training School, Ikeja, Lagos.

He appealed to the apex bank to review some of its policies in order to avoid hitches in the revenue drive of the agency.

Ali said NCS had made progress in getting approval for some items which made importers experience difficulties in the past.

“Customs had also made progress in getting the necessary approval for clearance of a huge backlog of imports,” he said.

“Imports in respect of which forms `M’ were opened before the commencement of the CBN foreign exchange restriction of some imported items.

“Importers of such goods could not finalise customs clearance due to inability to obtain the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

“Relief has come for such importers as we (Customs) have secured the go- ahead to waive the formalities and allow them to pay duty.”

He added that the service had re-organised the dispute resolution units and designated experienced comptrollers to head the units for quick resolution of disputes.

Ali said all disputes arising from valuation and classification were now referred to the units for resolution.

He added that the service had been receiving complaints about rates of duty and documentation processes which differed from one port to the other, saying there was also the issue of different rates among terminals in the same port.

Ali said activities of MAN could not be over-emphasised, adding that collaboration with the organised private sector (OPS) would be an important pillar of customs administration.

“We will therefore appreciate your feedback on our performances and government policies,” he said.

“We (Customs) encourage MAN to express its concerns about policy formulation and implementation.

“We assure you that under my watch, such contributions will form valuable inputs to our periodic reviews aimed at fine-tuning such policies for better result.

“I started operations last year. I am aware of strategic importance of Zone “A’’ to customs’ overall operations

“I will not remain the comptroller-general of Abuja. I will be showing more presence in Lagos and the zones.”