Don’t Approve Re-introduction of Pre-shipment Inspection Under Cover of e-Customs Modernization, Ex-NAGAFF President Writes Buhari
*Destination inspection remains best, traditional customs work
*Call for pre-shipment inspection selfish, gang-up to amass wealth
By Francis Ugwoke
The federal government has been urged to beware of those calling for the return of pres-shipment inspection of imports abolished several years ago for the current Destination Inspection (DI) being managed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Pre-shipment inspection was abolished following its failure to achieve its objective as goods on arriving Nigeria were again subjected to destination inspection following increasing trade malpractices, including importation of prohibited goods that ought to have been taken care by the former trade regime.
In an open letter to the President, former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and Head of Department, Sea Empowerment and Research Centre Ltd, Dr Eugene Nweke told the President to disregard the call for return of pre-shipment inspection under the cover of e-customs modernization.
According to him, those making the call were simply fronting for some foreign interests to the detriment of Nigerian economy.
Nweke wrote, “we implore you to please use your good offices to stop the growing gang up to concession the e-Customs Modernization by some unpatriotic elements fronted by their foreign collaborators.
“ The Nigeria Customs Service has come of age, and shown cause that it can administer itself if allowed to do so and supervised with a right attitudes.
“All that is required in this regards, is to bond over ( via a clearly spelt out performance indicator undertaken) and then appoint Career Customs Officer to pilot the affairs of the Service. As may be spelt out in the performance undertaking, such career officer, must undertake to instill and boost professional discipline, reinvigorate the Services with highly spirited and patriotic workforce”.
According to him, those seeking the return of pre-shipment inspection were simply after the one 1percent fee collected under Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS).
Titled “Re: Agitation For The Concession Of The e-Customs Modernization – An Appeal To Restore And Preserve National Interests”, Nweke wrote:
“First, it is important to reiterate that, the Destination Inspection of cargoes otherwise known as “Bill at Sight’ in the Customs nomenclature remains the traditional Customs work, which involves effective administration and modernization seals in all facets of Customs operations, spanning classification, valuation, manifest processing, examination, documentary clearance and release of goods.
“ Secondly, past attempts to circumvent this traditions resulted in short-changing the Customs of their core functions or traditional roles, at the long run results to a total defeats to the governments original intents, mostly of exposing the economy to private sectors oligopoly and exploitations, depleting our foreign reserves.
“For instance, the introduction of Pre-shipment Inspection – PIA SCHEME in 1979, robbed the Customs much of its professional abilities, as the responsibility of classification and valuation of imports were transferred to the Inspection Agents.
“ Under this scheme, the Customs responsibility was merely to collect duty assisted by the Inspection Agents whom were increasingly getting more money as enriched by the government, while the Customs Service gets poorer.
“ With a focused institutional reform, From 2004 upwards, the Nigeria Customs Services has under-gone high level training and maximized revenue generation corresponding to its sufficient funding in meeting it’s capacity building and modernization objectives, and premised on efficiency.
“The ever increasing yearly revenue generation is an attestation to the fact that, the Service is making giant strides in attaining efficiency, mostly as it relates to the Services specialized areas of operational’ obligations, ranging from Valuation, Tariff, Classifications, Intelligence, cargo inspections, Preventive, etc.
“It amounts to subtle insults on the government intelligence and a total embarrassment to its citizens when some unpatriotic elements collude with some proxy, non capacity foreign firms to propound unrealistic data and concepts, recruits the services of polio -economic jobbers and stage manage a process to narrow an initial ideal with a broader view, merely to protect their particular business interests.
“ For instance, the Customs by taking back its traditional core functions, in relation to handling classification, valuation, examination under the PAAR REGIME had saved the Federal Government the above amounts that were earlier exploited and collected by the Inspection Agents as 1% CISS fees(scanning fees) and yearly contract service fee.
“Further more, a total Revenue Generated by the Customs under the PAAR REGIME from 2014 to 2019, runs into tens of Trillions
“For emphasis sake, the total 1% CiSS ( or Scanning Fee) collected and saved for the government by the Nigeria Customs Service from 2013 to September 2019 runs thus:
i). Year 2013 = #43, 536,963, 183:43.
II). Year 2014 = #50, 107,770,808:89.
iii). Year 2015 = #48,600,448,691:00.
iv). Year 2016 = #47,144,508,794:43.
v). Year 2017 = #57,255,198,270:65.
vi). Year 2018 = #68,912,159,092;27.
vii). Year 2019 (Jan. to Sept.) = #53,112,507,269;08.
“TOTAL CISS COLLECTION FROM 2013 to Sept. 2019 = #368, 669,556,109:75 ( Three Hundred Sixty Eight Billion, Six Hundred and Sixty Nine Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Six Thousands, One Hundred and Nine Naira Seventy Five Kobo, Only).
“ Your Excellency, the essence of reporting this cost implications is to buttress the fact that, contracting or out sourcing Customs work means a deliberate drain of our national resources, while as encouraging the Customs to discharge its traditional works means national prosperity, pride and well being of the nation cum the citizenry.
“ For the umpteenth time, permit to reinstate that, the incessant recourse by the past administrations to short changing the Customs work via Concession or out sourcing, owing to the pressure from some unpatriotic elements and their foreign collaborators, to say the least, retards sustainable national economic development and stampedes the Customs professionalism and modernization drives.
“The Customs like any other human elements does better when appreciated, commended and encouraged but feels disenchanted and moral dampened when short change and treated as a never do well.
“At this stage of Customs modernization process, the true efforts that it requires now is to support and encourage the Customs in its derive and determination to attain and instill professional integrity (self discipline), especially amongst the younger workforce.
“THE ENDLESS GANG UP, INCREASING APPETITES TO ACCESS AND AMASS EASY WEATH THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT BY FOREIGN FIRMS.
“Your Excellency, we make bold to state that, most of the so-called foreign firms parading themselves as foreign investors are not actually what they pride themselves to be, rather they are merely an “army of occupations” ( to sound modest cosmetic corporate packaging instead of referring them as ” revenue parasites), seeking an opportunity to exploit and render the national economy unproductive and render its currency valueless, than they met it.
“In the Customs modernization quest since 1979 to 2013, their incursion into the Economic activities via Finance Ministry has caused the Nation more economic harm than improving it; disadvantages overwhelmed its advantages at the long run; being paid for services rendered without cost function nor corresponding value/benefits attached to it”.
President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Customs Agents (NCMDCA), Mr Lucky Amiwero in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari recently said the current Destination Inspection being implemented by the Nigeria Customs Serviced (NCS) which allows goods to be imported into the country without pre-inspection contravenes various provisions of the World Customs Organisations (WCO) on facilitation of global trade and therefore harmful to Nigeria…
Part of his letter to the President reads, “ “Destination Inspection(DI) process of import on cargo allows the illicit cross-border movement of weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD), Drugs, Arms, Ammunitions, counterfeit merchandised hazardous waste and human trafficking as presently practiced in Nigeria, which allows goods into Nigeria without pre-screening to identify high risk goods before shipment.
“The process of no inspection/ prescreening of goods coming into Nigeria poses greater security risk by the influx of Arms, Ammunition, Contrabands, Narcotics, explosives (e.g., dirty bombs, and weapon of mass destruction (WMD) and unwholesome items in to the Country in contravention of standard 2, 3 and 11 of the WCO SAFE framework of Standard
”.
“Before the event of 9/11 Customs authority were responsible for the clearance of imported goods at the Port of destination, The event of 9/11 precipitated a change in Cargo inspection from destination to now at manufacturing site of Port of Loading, for the monitoring of supply chain mechanism of unwholesome products and revenue manipulation at Destination.
About Post Author
