Emma Ujah Abuja
9 May 2004
THE presidential committee on Customs reforms, headed by the Minister of State for Finance, Mrs Nenadi Usman, has recommended a postponement of the Destination Inspection (DI)Scheme and also a review of the agreement between the Federal Government and COTECNA.
The committee, in its report to the president, a copy which Sunday Vanguard obtained, said that it would be necessary to postpone the re-introduction of the D I in order to fully prepare the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the scheme and to avoid a situation where the scheme would start only to be stopped, thereby leading to policy inconsistency and its attendant wrong signals to investors.
The panel found out that the number of licenced customs agents operating at the ports was too high and therefore recommended a reduction to a number not more than 200. Particularly, the Usman committee said that there was need for the full computerization and interconnectivity of the ASYCUDA to all stakeholders, with strong emphasis on the upgrading of the ASYCUDA to ASYCUDA + + .
The commencement of the DI has been postponed several times, with the last being the end of last year which was obviously impossible and therefore leading to a new target of January this year. That too could not be achieved.
On the agreement with CONTECNA, the committee said that there must be a comprehensive review of the agreement both by the Ministry of Finance and Customs with the company else the nation would lose large sums of revenues through lapses that have been discovered by the committee.
On the agreement with CONTECNA the committee said lapses should be addressed. They include: payment method, classification and calculation of duties and taxes, risk management, communication, scanning at border stations, human traffic at ports, accountability and transparency, legal requirements, transitional period and the designated banks and reconciliation of receipts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The committee which included the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, officials of Ministry of Finance and the presidency, found out that the number of licensed Customs agents operating at the ports was to high and therefore recommended a drastic reduction to a number, possibly as low as 100 but definitely no more than 200.
This step, the committee said has become necessary to create a healthy competitive business environment among them. The committee, in its investigations, discovered that the number of licensed agents had become unwieldy, with almost all retired top Customs officers establishing their firms and worst still, some serving officers were discovered to be having agency licences.
In order to undertake that it said that the licensing fee should be substantially reviewed upward "for the corporate body but having the same fee irrespective of the number of persons practising with that body or only a small addition for extra practicing members."
"Mergers and take-overs among the present licensed agents should be encouraged and a concerted effort made to examine the background of the principals of the business to eliminate those persons with a known criminal or corrupt background and those who are members of the NCS", it said.
Mrs Usman's committee which discovered that only about 50 per cent of duties due to the Federation Account actually got there has recommended a comprehen-sive review of the legal provisions guiding the activities of Customs agents, with a new provision introducing accounts books to be maintained and produced by the agents upon demand by audit.
"The law should set down details of all transactions to be recorded including commissions, receipts and bank payments all of which must be cross referenced to NCS Declaration numbers and deposits and cheques. Business will not be allowed to be done by cash and agents found doing so will have their lincences withdrawn immediately", the committee further recommended.
In line with the above the committee has recommended a mandatory annual audit of all agents and not just by a government auditors but private audit firms are being favoured to guarantee the integrity of such exercises.
The committee identified inadequate funding as one of the major constraints against the NCS in the performance of its duties and also one of the identified causes of corruption in the organisation, has recommended that Customs should be allowed to retain 2 per cent of the revenue it generates.
In fact, it was learnt that poor budgetary allocation to the NCS in this fiscal year was one of the first problems that the Comptroller-General, Mr. Jacob Buba had to confront immediately after his appointment. He has made a strong representation to the Minister of Finance, who has promised to table the matter before the president.
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