Senate passes Customs Service Commission Act, strips Minister supervisory roles
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, stripped the Minister of Finance its age long supervisory roles over the activities of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and further sealed the new law with the creation of Nigerian Customs Services Commission (NCSC).
The chairman of the Commission shall be appointed by the President and confirmed after the screening by the Senate.
The law now waiting for Presidential accent also gives an additional increase in the cost of imports to shore up income.
After a clause by clause consideration by the Committee of the whole, the Senate hammered its seal to repeal and reenact the Nigerian Customs Management Act (CEMA) 2017.
By this action, the Senate has replaced the governing board of Customs with the establishment of a new Commission to known and addressed as the NCSC.
A strategic interpretation of the new law means that on the accent of the Act by Mr. President, the Minister of Finances seizes to possess supervisory roles on the agency and being the chairman of the Customs board.
The new Commission to be established under the new law, shall be chaired by an appointee of the President show shall pass through Senate confirmation process.
Besides, to shore up Customs funding based on the new amendments, the bill grants the federal agency, an additional one per cent increase in the cost of imports on the full value of all goods dutiful of not. The new revenue window seems to be coming in addition to the retained seven per cent cost of collection in import duties.
Few maritime and shipping analysts who weighed the new law said it will among other things raise the yearly performance of NCS and boost sanity in ease of doing business at the ports and entry points across the country.
