By Moses Ebosele, ebosele@hotmail.com –
Nigeria is to commence implementation of the 2017 Revised Import and Export Guidelines on January 1, 2018.
Speaking at a sensitisation workshop in Lagos on Thursday, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun explained that the date was fixed after due consultations with stakeholders.
Represented by the Director of Home Finance Department in the Ministry, Mrs Olubunmi Siyanbola, the Minister explained that the Federal Government has put into consideration concerns of all stakeholders.
Under the arrangement, goods already loaded for shipment to Nigeria prior to this date would not be affected by the palletization policy.
In addition, in recognition of the concerns expressed by the trading stakeholders regarding the policy, the Minister also assured that list of categories of goods that may be exempted from palletization, where it is absolutely necessary, would be placed on the websites of the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
According to the Minister, review of the Nigerian Export and Import Guidelines was motivated by the desire of the present administration to deepen ease of doing business in Nigeria, in line with the Executive Order 1.
Adeosun said attention has been focused principally on measures to ensure drastic reduction in time spent on processing of exports, “ensure 24 hours clearance of imported cargoes and block leakages of revenue accruable to the Government”.
She informed the audience that Nigeria has moved to the 145th position out of the 190 countries in the World Bank’s ease of Doing Business Index for 2018.
Explaining further, the Minister who spoke on sundry issues said: “Let me at this point commend the Inter-Ministerial Committee that worked tirelessly to actualise the review of the Guidelines, which has culminated in today’s event.
“The Committee on the review of Export Guidelines was made up of Federal Ministry of Finance; Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment; Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development; Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigeria Customs Service; Department of Petroleum Resources; Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation; Nigeria Export Promotion Council; and National Agency for Food & Drug Administration & Control.
“The Committee on the Review of Import Guidelines, Procedures and Documentation Requirements had the same membership, including Nigeria Shippers Council and Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission.
“In the course of the review exercise, the two Committees made commendable efforts to remove all identified physical and administrative bottlenecks based on the past experiences and lessons.
“The expectation is that the exporters and importers will take advantage of the enabling business environment being created by the present Government to engage in formal trade, expand the volume of export without flouting the best practices”.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse noted that until the recent review, the Export and Import Guidelines had become obsolete and had constituted a huge administrative impediment to smooth export and import operations in Nigeria.
He said the Export Guidelines came into effect in 2007, while the Import Guidelines had been in existence since 2013.
Dr Isa-Dutse, who was represented by the Director of Information in the Ministry, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, expressed optimism that the revised guidelines will eliminate the bottlenecks that have militated against efficient conduct of trade across the country’s borders, which had contributed to the declining ranking of the country in this regard.
The one-day sensitization workshop featured presentation of papers, panel discussions, and questions and answers session.
Photo Caption:L-R:Representative of the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on industry, trade and investment, Dr Jude Oboh,
Director Of Information, Federal Ministry Of Finance (FMF) Alhaji
Salisu Dambatta, Representative Of The Minister Of Finance, Mrs
