Following the hiccups currently being experienced in the course of clearing goods at the nation’s seaports, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga has tasked the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to focus more on facilitating trade as against revenue collection.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) Base weekend, Aganga said that when trade is facilitated, revenue will be enhanced.
He said that the Federal Government was committed to improved port management services adding that when trade is facilitated, the economy will be the better for it.
He explained that Customs all over the world has three main goals, trade facilitation, security and revenue generation.
“When trade is properly facilitated, the revenue will come because the economic scale goes up and this is tied to industralisation, job creation, the cost of doing business.
“That should be a primary objective of government and because this is the government’s perspective, that is why we are trying to achieve 48 hours cargo clearance time,” the Minister stated.
He disclosed that there has been some improvement in the cargo clearance process, although it is difficult managing the success so recorded.
The former Minister of Finance also said that because Nigeria is committed to the global trade facilitation agreement, facilitating trade should not only be for revenue.
“If this is well done, it adds to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it adds to the revenue of the country and this should be the overall drive,” he said.
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