Operators in the manufacturing and maritime sector have rated the Nigeria Customs Service below the average mark, over what they describe as obsolete imports valuation technique.
They believe that the adopted approach of the NCS is no longer practised among developed and most developing nations across the globe.
The National Coordinator, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Dr. Osita Chukwu, compared Nigeria’s operations with what is obtainable in other African countries like Ghana, Benin Republic, and Togo, where he said the entire system was transparent.
According to him, the values of goods are published online and importers could check online, pay to the bank and get their receipts and they don’t have to see anybody. But in Nigeria, he alleged that Customs officials encouraged operators to negotiate on prices of imported goods.
“That is why most of the time, there is over-valuation for some people and under-valuation for others. In Nigeria, people do things to favour people they know; in other countries, whether you know somebody or not, the price is the same. Here, there is a conflict of interest everywhere. If a Customs man buys a car, his colleagues may want to charge him a lower duty while some other people will want to negotiate their duty downward.
“Some people who are not educated enough to know when their goods are being over-valued would not ask for a refund; instead, they will just let the matter die. Also, the foreigners are more favoured in terms of valuation, than Nigerians. While you cannot go to their countries and start negotiating duties, they can do that here without any issue,” he said.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries also kicked against what it described as indiscriminate valuation queries of invoice of imported items by the Customs.
The Director-General, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, warned that though it was important for NCS to boost government’s revenue, it was more important for the agency to create a credible ground to dispute the value of invoice on imports, and that most of the prices were global and easily verifiable online.
He said, “The actions of the NCS have no bearing on these global prices. Prices vary across different regions of the world.
“It is unfortunate that we lack a dependable dispute resolution framework to ensure speedy resolution of the valuation disputes and we urge the Federal Government, the Minister of Finance and the Comptroller General of the NCS, to intervene in the matter.”
According to him, officers imposed prices on items at will and from the prices, they would calculate the duty.
“When an importer gives them an invoice for a particular item, say, a 2008 model Toyota (Corolla) car costing $10,000, the Customs men will look at the invoice and declare that the price is not correct. They can then go ahead and say the cost of the car is $15,000 and calculate the duty based on the $15,000; instead of the price on the invoice,” Yusuf
lamented.
