Follow Us on Google
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating pre-shipment inspection of exports and the non-remittance of crude oil proceeds has queried the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other agencies over their roles in the pre-shipment inspection regime.
The panel, which also engaged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), directed all the affected agencies to submit all relevant documents on their roles in the pre-shipment of oil and non-oil goods and commodities at export terminals.
The chairman of the committee, Seyi Sowunmi, gave the directive after representatives of the agencies made presentations to the panel at its resumed hearing on Wednesday.
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale, represented by DCG Caroline Diagwan, told the lawmakers that the role of the Service in pre-shipment is to ensure that documents presented are in sync with what is being exported.
According to him: “Our role as regards export of crude is we get what we call NXP, and then certificate of inspection, as well as export permit. We now make sure that those documents tally with what has been exported at the point of export. So we do examination as well as physicalisation of crude.
Other News
“That is the role we play. We make sure that what is being exported tallies with the documents sent to us by the CBN, that’s the NXP, and then the export permit from NUPRC. We are there at the point of inspection. After inspection, that’s when they do the exportation. Customs are there with other government agencies.
“We don’t collect export duties, actually. And we don’t really know how much money they are paying to the government, because that’s not our purview. So as long as the documents they issue to us tally with what is there physically, they are good to go.
“The export takes place at export terminals under oil and gas command in Port Harcourt, as well as other commands in Edo and Delta. So these controllers of these commands send monthly returns to the headquarters on all the activities, which include all exports as well as imports.”
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, who spoke through a director in the apex bank, Musa Nakurji, said the bank acts as a rallying point for all the other agencies involved in pre-shipment.
Cardoso said: “Regarding the issue of pre-shipment inspection, by the Act of 1992, Central Bank is actually saddled with the responsibility of the administrative side of it. So let me first of all start by making a bit of a correction. If you look at the pre-inspection Act, Central Bank does not appoint the pre-inspection agent.
“Then the second thing again, in terms of the form NXP, we don’t send anything manually to Customs. The process is automated. And Customs latch on to that to get their report.”
