By Godwin Oritse

WITH growing allegations of trade malpractices against corporate organisations inside Export Processing Zones, EPZs,   the Federal Government may clampdown on their operations to restore sanity to the facility designed to boost exports.

Free Trade Zones, FTZs, are also called special economic zones, SEZs, where goods may land, be handled, manufactured and re-exported without being subjected to Customs formalities. Import duties and other taxes are usually not applied to the zones as companies operating there are expected to export most of the products manufactured inside the zones.

The latest warning is coming from the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Col. Hameed Ali, (rtd), who alleged that some operators would go to the zone, establish something small and then use that as a base for massive importation.

Ali said the perpetrators took advantage of the various EPZ incentives to import 98 per cent of what they were supposed to produce locally while producing only two per cent in Nigeria.

Addressing members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s Annual General Meeting, AGM in an interactive session in Lagos, the Customs boss said in addition to the fight the Customs men have at the borders, the FTZs were posing challenges to the Service as well.

Companies set up in the FTZs are usually given tax breaks as an incentive to enhance foreign exchange earnings, develop export-oriented industries, and create employment opportunities.

The Customs boss disclosed that he saw over 300 truckloads of rice heading towards one of the FTZs and wondered what value addition rice was supposed to offer to the operators in the zone.

Ali warned that steps will soon be taken to evaluate and ascertain the true status of all EPZs in the country and the companies operating in them.