Nigeria Customs Sensitises Officers on Implementation of Advance Ruling System

Nigeria Customs Sensitises Officers on Implementation of Advance Ruling System

The Nigeria Customs Service has held a sensitisation programme for officers on the implementation of Advance Ruling System.

Speaking at the event which held in Lagos on Monday, 15 July, 2024, the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Zonal Coordinator Zone ‘A’, ACG Saidu Yusuf, explained that the Advance Ruling system is a tool that will facilitate business processes in Nigeria.

“Its a trade facilitation tool which is going to facilitate how business or trade is being carried out in Nigeria. What it means is that Applicants/Importers or representatives are going to apply to the NCS on information in regards to classification, valuation, origin or status”.

“So when you get it, according to our law, section 24, it is going to be binding on both the Applicant or the declarant, as well as the Nigeria Customs Service,” he added.

He expressed the CGC’s passion on the Nigerian economy saying, “He is somebody that is very passionate about the Nigerian economy, from the beginning one year ago, what he did when he came on board was to engage stakeholders, that’s part of the process of trade facilitation as well.

“Thereafter, there was a Time Release Study (TRS) which is part of the tool as well, there’s Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), then this, the Advance Ruling. So it’s going to simplify everything and make standard very clear,” he emphasised.

The Zonal Coordinator urged officers to take the programme seriously, to ensure that they understand the procedures, as the future of the service lies in their hands.

Advance Ruling serves as a trade facilitation tool adopted as an international best practice, recommend by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization.