By Mitchelle Uzorka
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Thursday March 24th, 2022 reiterated its rejection of the e-valuator and e-invoicing for import and export businesses in Nigeria.
The electronic valuation and invoicing system was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year to create a benchmark for the calculation of import duties on cargoes coming into Nigeria and to also obtain accurate data about the country’s imports and exports.
Recall that the CBN in a letter dated 8 July 2021 informed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of its plan to deploy a mechanism for verification of prices of goods before allocation of forex at the point of e-form M registration. The policy in summary seeks to benchmark the price of the imported and exported cargo.
However, in a statement on Thursday March 24,2022, Customs spokesman, Timi Bomodi, debunked rumours that it has accepted the new CBN policy.
Part of the statement reads: “It has come to our attention that there are reports, suggesting the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has acquiesced to the introduction of the e-valuator and e-invoicing for import and export businesses in Nigeria by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). We wish to state that this is incorrect. The Service still stands by its earlier submissions on the matter, as was clearly communicated to the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Customs and Excise, Banking and Currencies on 03 March 2022.
