Business
Customs To Blacklist Debtor Companies
The Area One Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Port Harcourt has said that it will blacklist and revoke operation licenses of multinational and other companies that fail to comply with the order to pay up their custom duties by December 31, 2009.
Speaking in a chat with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt, the area one Public Relation Officer, Mr. D.A Jack said that some well known and established companys that import goods through the Port Harcourt port have failed to pay up their duties.
For this reason, he said, the area command has decided to blacklist them, if at the end of December this year, they are not able to pay the duties for their imports.
The PRO posited that the command is very much determined to ensure that there is total compliance to this decision, pointing out that one of the steps to be taken is to refuse the renewal of the operational import license of these defaulting companies.
He said that the operational import license is renewable every year, but that customs will not honour any request by any defaulting companies against such renewal, adding that such companies can not import without a renewal license.
On newly recruited customs personnel that were sent on attachment at the area one command, the PRO said that their training is progressive, and that the total number of personnel being awaited by the area has since arrived to join others on the training, adding that a total of 85 newly recruited personnel are currently on attachment at the area one command.
Mr. Jack explained that these officers are moved from seat to seat so as to familiarise them with the customs operations, before they can begin to wear uniforms.
Already, they are staff of NCS, the PRO said, but will begin official duties at the end of the exercise which will end between December 31 and the 1st week of January 2010.
Corlius Walter