By Godwin Oritse

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has made major adjustments in the 2015 Common External Tariff, CET. This came as the agency had also concluded plans to further increase the import duty on cargoes due to the crash in the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollars, a development that made the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to peg official exchange window at N316 last week.

Already, the revised edition of the Common External Tariff has been made available to all customs brokers, freight forwarding associations and other organisations.

When customs commenced implementation of the Common External Tariff in 2015, freight forwarders and importers kicked against it, saying that the policy was too unfriendly and had forced several importers out of business, with many others leaving the country entirely.

Disclosing this at a meeting with Freight Forwarders and Customs brokers in Lagos last weekend, Customs Area Comptroller of the in-Can Island Command, Bashir Yussuf, said the CET has been amended and copies are available to stakeholders.

He said:   “There are copies of tariff that I want to share to organisations, I am sure your association will give you copies you will keep in your office. “It is important you get a copy because at certain point you will put an HS Code and an officer might tell you it is not correct, but now you can say it is the official copy of the customs that is given to the association”

“We will give you your official copies of the tariff, it is free of charge and we would extend same to all other associations because we have unity of purpose” He explained that anyone who was interested in having a copy of the revised CET should come through custom and forward  the request for them to buy.

Also confirming the development, Public Relations Officer of Tin Can Customs Command, Mr. Chris Osunkwo, said the CET was revised with a detailed pamphlet on amendment on the tariffs.