The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has debunked news making the round that the Service was responsible for the recent increase in payable Customs duty. The NCS said that neither does it have such powers nor exercised same; as monetary policies affecting importations and customs trade is situate with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Customs Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) in a statement through the NCS spokesman, Timi Bomodi, urged the trading and general public to disregard the allegation as false and misleading. A deputy comptroller of Customs, Bomodi who assured Nigerians that the Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) led NCS is committed to trade facilitation. The statement reads: “The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to reports by some sections of the media attributing the increase in exchange rate in our system to the Nigeria Customs Service. “The rate of exchange used to calculate duty payments is not a static phenomenon, we wish to reiterate that the Central Bank of Nigeria is the only organisation vested with the authority to determine official rates as applicable for the purpose of calculating duties and other taxes applicable for import and export.
