Customs, CBN Disagree Over E-Evaluation, E-Invoicing

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have disagreed on the adoption of the e-evaluation and e-invoicing for importers and exporters in the country.
The CBN had introduced the policy in February to check fraud in foreign exchange spending or inflated transactions.
CBN had in a circular signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, Dr. O. S. Nnaji, explained that the policy was to ensure that imports and exports which unit prices were above 2.5 per cent of the verified global checkmate prices are queried and denied successful completion of either Form M or Form NX.
However, in a statement on its official Twitter handle, the NCS said this cannot be adopted in view of its restriction by international treaties in which it was a signatory.
The Customs denied a media report that it had adopted the policy by the CBN, stating in its Twitter handle that “the practice world over is to domicile adjudication on Customs values for import and export within the Customs administration of every country.
“The NCS, undoubtedly, is alive to its statutory functions and has a vibrant Valuation Unit under the Tariff and Trade Department whose roles, among others, includes the proper interpretation of WCO/WTO rules and agreements concerning the valuation of goods.
“Nigeria being a member of the World Customs Organization, World Trade Organization and also a signatory to international trade treaties, including Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, is constrained to abide by the principles contained therein”, the statement noted.
It continued that “this agreement also prescribes five other methods for arriving at Customs value where the transaction value is unacceptable.
“They are the transaction value of identical goods, the transaction value of similar goods, deductive value method, computed value method, and fallback method applied sequentially”, it concluded.