4% FOB Levy: Customs Backtracks, Resorts to Sensitize Importers, Clearing Agents

Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi
—Insists levy is aimed at enhancing revenue generation, ensuring compliance
By DAPO OLAWUNI
Apparently inundated by complaints and outcry by clearing agents and importers, the Nigeria Customs Service has directed its Area Commands to organize stakeholder meetings, workshops, and sensitization sessions to provide clarity on the purpose, process. and compliance requirements of the 4% FOB collection which was introduced by the service on Tuesday.
In a circular issued on Wednesday 5th of February, signed by the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Finance, Admin and Technical Services, DCG Mohammed Bello Jibo, the service stated that “Inline with the implementation of the 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy, it is imperative that all Customs Area Controllers take proactive steps to engage and educate importers, clearing agents, and relevant stakeholders on the modalities for its collection.
“The 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy is aimed at enhancing revenue generation and ensuring compliance with the NCS Act 2023”
“As such, all Area Commands are directed to organize stakeholder meetings, workshops, and sensitization sessions to provide clarity on the purpose, process. and compliance requirements of the 4% FOB collection”
The circular further directed the area commands to ensure strict compliance and provide periodic updates on their level of stakeholder engagement and compliance rates.
Recall that introduction of the 4% FOB on Tuesday, though backed by the Customs Management Act 2023, generated tension among licensed customs agents, most importantly, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA)
Vice President of the Association, Prince Segun Oduntan lamented that the service had snucked in the 4%FOB collection without consultation or sensitization of stakeholders.
According to him, the new 4% levy would further impoverish Nigerians, as the cost doing business at the ports is bound to skyrocket.
“We noticed the NCS has introduced 4% and renamed it Customs Operation Finance as appeared on this assessment.
The Customs CG needs to call for an emergency meeting within 48-hours to address this development because it is already causing uproar in the freight forwarding system.
“All the freight forwarding associations would have to come together on this matter” he fumed
Former Sole Administrator of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Babatunde Mukaila on his part said that the new 4% FOB is akin to customs requesting importers and agents to pay them for carrying out their statutory responsibilities.
“The collection is like payment for doing their job. Its like they want us to start paying them for doing their jobs and for coming to office. This is why we are spoiling for war.
“We have also been calling for a percentage of the collection in our revenue we generated but they didn’t approve, now they want us to pay them 4%” Mukaila stated
It is absolutely ridiculous to introduce 4% CISS by customs ,Customs receive salaries , pensions and gratuities why will they receive additional CISS charges ab initio.Thos charges was paid to inspectorate agents like SGS etc but customs took over and said they can do the job better .After a year or two they said they needed CISS for them to do the job better.
A cargo of 60,000,000 will end up paying customs 2m naira CISS.
If they cannot do the job , there should be an introduction of flat duty rate that doesn’t require form m.
In such a scheme you come to valuation with your invoice and the system will issue what to pay without PAAR or form M.
I thought Customs duty is to enhance trade but this move will destroy Niverians the more.
Are we serious at all?