Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) has announced a 4% suspension of free boarding fees on imports. NCS National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Auditor General of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada revealed this in a press statement released on February 11.
“Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) announced the suspension of the 4% Free Plate (FOB) value for imports as stipulated in Section 18(1)(a) of Nigeria Customs Services (NCSA) 2023.
This is a sequel to ongoing consultations with Finance Minister and Economic Coordination Minister Olawale Edun and other stakeholders. ”
According to the statement, the suspension will involve comprehensive stakeholders on the implementation framework of the bill and consult.
The suspension is consistent with the exit time for service providers including Webb Fontaine, which previously passed 1% full import supervision Funded by the Program (CISS).
The statement said that the separation of 1% CISS and 7% collection costs under the previous funding arrangements repealed by NCSA 2023 creates operational inefficiency and funding gaps in customs modernization efforts.
According to the statement, the new bill addresses these challenges by consolidating “4% of the value of free imports” and aims to ensure sustainable funding for critical customs operations and modernization plans.
“This transition period will enable services to optimize the management of these frameworks to better serve the interests of our stakeholders and countries.
The bill further empowers modern services through various technological innovations. Specifically, NCSA 2023 Section 28 authorizes the development and maintenance of electronic systems for information exchange between services, other government agencies and merchants.
The service has implemented a variety of digital solutions, including the recently deployed B’Odogwu purge system, where stakeholders benefit from faster purge times and increased transparency.
Other innovative solutions authorized by the Act include: single window implementation (Section 33), risk management systems (Section 32), non-invasive inspection equipment (Section 59), and electronic data exchange facilities (Section 33 (3) .
The suspension period will enable the service to further interact with stakeholders while ensuring proper alignment with the bill’s provisions on sustainable funding for these modernization programs.
NCS remains committed to implementing the provisions of the Act in a way that best serves our stakeholders, while fulfiling our revenue generation and trade facilitation tasks.
After the stakeholder consultation is concluded, we will communicate the revised implementation timeline. ”
