According to the Nigerian Customs Service, the Benin Republic’s trade policies are antagonistic towards Nigerian businesspeople.
Dera Nnadi, the Seme command’s Customs Area Controller, made this statement yesterday at the command’s headquarters.
He attributed the lack of imports to the command of the Benin Republic’s trade policies.
Additionally, Nnadi stated that the command had received five import declarations, with a total duty paid of N13m paid in just ten days.
He explained: “The command recorded only five declarations of import within this period with a total of N13.38m paid as duty. The dearth in import is as a result of the trade policy introduced by the Republic of Benin which traders and indeed the service consider hostile to Nigeria.
“In line with keeping to that promise but bearing in mind the challenges of the command as one that is still recovering from the effects of the border closure, the command has facilitated the movement of export trucks. Under the Economic Community of West African States Trade Liberalisation Scheme, 70 trucks with fees amounting to N1m were collected.
“There were 81 baggage declarations with duty amounting to N4m. The items imported under this arrangement included food products and beverages produced within the sub-region.
He further stated: “It is worthy of note that the major source of revenue of the command (import/export) has not been enhanced since the opening of the land borders as directed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as the traders are still bracing up with the challenges of having been out of business for over two years.
“It is important to note that the 2022 fiscal policy measures by the Federal Ministry of Finance lifted the ban on the export of goods imported into Nigeria hitherto prohibited under item 8 Schedule 6 of the Common External Tariff.
“Let me at this interval, appreciate the collaborative efforts of other sister agencies in the fight against smuggling and appeal for their continuous support.”
