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The
ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to professionalise the
operations of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will not only help
boost the image of the agency, but will also rid it of its poor public
perception, minister of finance, Segun Aganga, said at the weekend in
Abuja.

Mr
Aganga also said government remains committed to attaining the policy
of 48-hour clearance of goods at the ports as well as general ports
congestion, saying this remains the only way to help lift the poor
image of the agency responsible for fiscal policing of the country on
customs and excise duties as well as sundry trade levies.

The
minister, who was speaking at the inauguration of the reconstituted
presidential task force on the reform of the NCS, described as unfair
the low rating of the Customs in the area of trade facilitation,
particularly in respect of it being blamed for the obstruction of free
flow of trades import and export in the country.

“From
my recent facility tour of the nation’s major entry ports, I found a
greater level of professionalism in the agency than the public knows,
though there is still room for improvement. The Customs we need is one
that not only does its duties professionally, but also one that lives
up to its billing as the prime agency at the nation’s ports, by
actively seeking solutions to the challenges that port users face, and
advising government proactively on them,” he said.

Warning
that government cannot afford to keep losing trade and revenue to
neighbouring countries, the minister pointed out that considering that
international trade in both developing and developed countries has
become a key driver in economic growth and development as well as a
factor in raising the living standards of the people, there was need
for the agency to clean up its act to deliver on its mandate.

Though
he acknowledged improvements in the agency’s year-on-year revenue
generation, with its target for last July exceeding budget as a result
of close supervision and attention of its duties, Mr. Aganga said the
dwindling government revenue in the wake of the recent global economic
crisis has thrown up the challenge for the Customs to increase its
effort towards generating more revenue.

Fully automated

The
comptroller general, Abdullahi Inde, last week, disclosed that the
decision of the NCS under his leadership in the last one year to update
the quality of its operations to meet internationally accepted
operational standards, has not only resulted in the reduction of the
usually long delay in Single Good Declaration (SGD) processes for
imported goods to a maximum of 12 hours, but has facilitated its
efforts to generate an average of N15 million every month.

The
operations of the NCS, he said, is now fully automated, blaming long
delays associated with clearance of imported goods at the ports to
shipping companies and concessionaire agents, who still depend on the
manual system of processing documents.

According
to the minister, the former taskforce had to be reconstituted after two
years for failure to deliver on its mandate, saying members of the new
body would be expected to harmonise the reports of the various reform
initiatives in the past and come up with a blueprint for the
implementation of approved recommendations.

The
taskforce, which has three months to complete its assignment, was also
asked to focus its attention on delivering its mandate by showing the
effects of the measures implemented on revenues in the last three
months.

The
eleven-member committee is headed by a retired federal permanent
secretary, Mr. Ochi Achinivu, with representatives from the NCS, State
Security Service (SSS), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),
Clearing & Forwarding Agents Association, and Federal Ministry of
Finance, among others.