Following the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, the management of the Nigeria Customs Service has expressed readiness for the initiative.
The National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Joseph Attah, made this known in a statement made available to FinancialStreet on Thursday.
Attah reiterated custom’s readiness as trade facilitator to facilitate the implementation of the agreement.
“Sequel to the ratification of AfCFTA by member nations, the Nigeria Customs Service has found it pertinent to inform the public about steps which must be taken to enable its smooth and full implementation.
“Instead of proceeding in a chaotic manner, the Nigeria Customs Service – as policy implementor – understands the importance of spelling out the roles and responsibilities of all parties in this agreement and the conditions attendant on its implementation,” he stated.
According to the custom’s image maker, there is need to methodically harvest and integrate all data associated with AfCFTA.
“However, we also wish to remind the public that our functions are highly automated and primarily systems-driven. Hence the need to methodically harvest and integrate all data associated with AfCFTA into our system for easy deployment, access and use by the trading public.”
Attah urged the National Action Committee to list the duties and charges waived for liberalised goods under AfCTA, the 90 per cent liberalised National Trade Offers, as well as the 70 per cent Non-liberalised exclusive goods at the regional level, and the three per cent Non-Liberalised sensitive goods.
He also canvassed the need to appoint a competent authority responsible for issuing and authenticating certificates of origin and registering enterprises and products within the region. “NCS acknowledges the transformational impact this agreement portends for businesses within the continent in general and Nigeria in particular, and is fully committed to its success,” he said.
The NCS, Attah noted, also recommended that each member country should have a representative in the continental Chamber of Commerce to ensure transparency within the body, thereby generating confidence in the system. “This, in our view, should be complementary to the activities of the various Chambers of Commerce of each country in the region,” he said. THE NCS was also quoted as expressing optimism that the initiative will engender business growth and economic resilience.
“While awaiting clear directives concerning tariffs for all goods covered by this agreement, we want to assure the public of our preparedness to fully deploy our services at the shortest notice. Our desire is to imbue trust in the system, while guaranteeing the economic safety and wellbeing of businesses within the country.
“We look with optimism to an era of complete economic integration, which will lead to growth and prosperity for businesses within the region,” Attah stated
