Sack of 2000 Customs Officers Has Not Stopped Corruption at Ports – Laments Lagos Shippers Association
HAMMED ALI CUSTOMS CG
*Says unprofessional practice by Customs Service increasing smuggling
* Insists solution is not in sacking officers but…
By Francis Ugwoke
The Lagos Shippers Association has said that the sack of 2000 officers by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Retd Hameed Ali, over allegation of corruption has not changed corruption index in the Ports.
President of the association, Evang. Leo Ogamba described the purported sack of 2000 of the officers as simply “a tip of the ice berg when compared with the level of unprofessionalism in customs practice and procedure currently going on”.
Ogamba told SHIPPING DAY that the Customs Service has “swept under the carpet transaction value as a bases for custom duty appraisal under act 20 of 2003 in favour of so called bench marking metrix”.
He said the policy of bench marking has also led to increase in smuggling.
Ogamba maintained that the solution was not in sacking officers but in going back to trade facilitation and implementing the WCO and WTO GATT agreements.
He added, “It is of public knowledge that smuggling has geometrically increased since E-inviocing benchmarking metrix replaced transaction value. This is not only unconscionable but also shipper unfriendly policy.
“It is a sugar-ant complex, if you don’t want ant to continue to visit one’s business domain, remove the sugar. This means when trade policies are shippers unfriendly, in the circumstances some Custom officers whose welfare package and salary can’t take care of their basic needs of shelter, feeding, school fees etc coupled with inflation will definitely seek remedy from any available source.
The solution is not in sacking, but in going back to trade facilitation, application of depreciation principle on vehicles and all the abandoned global best practices in tandem with WCO and WTO GATT agreements which Nigeria is not only a signatory but has domesticated same”.
* Insists solution is not in sacking officers but…
By Francis Ugwoke
The Lagos Shippers Association has said that the sack of 2000 officers by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Retd Hameed Ali, over allegation of corruption has not changed corruption index in the Ports.
President of the association, Evang. Leo Ogamba described the purported sack of 2000 of the officers as simply “a tip of the ice berg when compared with the level of unprofessionalism in customs practice and procedure currently going on”.
Ogamba told SHIPPING DAY that the Customs Service has “swept under the carpet transaction value as a bases for custom duty appraisal under act 20 of 2003 in favour of so called bench marking metrix”.
He said the policy of bench marking has also led to increase in smuggling.
Ogamba maintained that the solution was not in sacking officers but in going back to trade facilitation and implementing the WCO and WTO GATT agreements.
He added, “It is of public knowledge that smuggling has geometrically increased since E-inviocing benchmarking metrix replaced transaction value. This is not only unconscionable but also shipper unfriendly policy.
“It is a sugar-ant complex, if you don’t want ant to continue to visit one’s business domain, remove the sugar. This means when trade policies are shippers unfriendly, in the circumstances some Custom officers whose welfare package and salary can’t take care of their basic needs of shelter, feeding, school fees etc coupled with inflation will definitely seek remedy from any available source.
The solution is not in sacking, but in going back to trade facilitation, application of depreciation principle on vehicles and all the abandoned global best practices in tandem with WCO and WTO GATT agreements which Nigeria is not only a signatory but has domesticated same”.
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