BEVERLY HILLS, December 02 (THEWILL) – The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to restore the ban on importation of rice through land borders.
THEWILL recalls that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had earlier lifted the ban on rice importation during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The NCS had reversed the 2014 to 2017 National Rice Policy through a circular (Ref. No. NCS/T&T/I&E/045/S.416.VOL/IX of 5th October 2015).
The Senate said the lifting of the ban has led to increased diversion of vessels to neighbouring countries.
Adopting the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Concessions and Grants on the NCS on rice importation through the land borders, the Senate expressed concern that the decision to allow importation of rice through land borders would escalate rice smuggling.
It therefore urged the Federal Government to direct the NCS to reverse itself and maintain the status quo, which brought about stability in the tariff regime.
Presenting the report of the Committee, a member of the panel, Donald Alasoadura, faulted the decision of the NCS, saying there were serious security implications accompanying uncontrolled number of trucks through the nation’s borders.
He said the Committee found out from the presentation of Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of Customs, that the NCS had a wrong notion that importers of rice through the land borders were ‘small-time’ importers of few bags that would not have negative effect on the rice policy.
The Committee, he said, noted that most of the rice brought into Nigeria through Benin Republic and Niger Republic were brought in by ‘big time businessmen,’ who had perfected evasion of payment of Customs Duty to the country by bringing rice in trucks.
The Committee also found out that any importer that imports five to 10 loads/vessels of rice into Benin Republic and destined them to Nigeria through the land borders already had predetermined motive to cheat Nigerian government of revenue through duty evasion.
The panel discovered further that lifting of the ban led to more serious revenue leakages as a result of heightened activities of smugglers across the borders, as they exploited it by paying for less number of trucks than actually brought in.
According to the Ad-hoc panel, the action of the NCS led to evasion of customs duty and revenue losses to Nigerian maritime industry: Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime and Security Administration Agency (NIMASA), Freight Forwarders, haulage subsector, etc.
Ban on rice importation in Nigeria through land, according to the report, would improve the quality of rice produced in the country, thus creating more jobs for Nigerian farmers.
On his part, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, asked the NCS to import rice only through the sea.
