Customs Says No Law Backing Levy For Luxury Items

CHANNELS TV

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), has blamed the negative effect of some government trade and economic policies for inability of the Service to meet its 2016 revenue target of N937bn.

Colonel Ali stated this position on Wednesday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs, during an excise to review the 2016 budget performance of Customs and defend its 2017 budget.

“Some government deliberate trade and economic policies also negate the collection of the revenue that we are supposed to.

“If you recall we have in the last budget, also mentioned the 41 items which are now excluded from accessing FOREX (foreign exchange) through the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.

The Customs boss told the lawmakers that no revenue has been collected through the levy on luxury items, saying there was no legal backing to enforce the collection of the proposed levy.

He stressed the importance of a legal instrument to back the collection of levy on such items, saying its absence has negatively affected the Customs.

“That policy has reduced by quite a percentage the importation of items into this country. Our collection as far as the law is concern is on import, and the lesser the import the lesser the collection.

“So that has also negatively affected the collection of levy on import of luxury goods. In the absence of a legal instrument or government policy that mandates Customs to collect levy, we have to allow them to come into the country,” he said.

The Customs has a 2017 revenue target of N772.88bn, a figure which is 17% lower than its 2016 revenue target.