The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has urged the Federal Government to adopt Ghana’s customs processes as a blueprint for financing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
In a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu and signed by its National President, Lucky Amiwero, the council highlighted the efficiency, transparency, and international compliance of Ghana’s customs operations. The correspondence, obtained by The PUNCH, emphasized that Ghana funds its customs operations through an allocated share of three per cent of total import duty and value-added tax (VAT) collections, with an additional 0.4 per cent earmarked for its customs technology platform.
NCMDLCA contrasted this with Nigeria’s current financing framework, describing it as costly and convoluted. “The Federal Government should adopt Ghana Customs processes in financing the NCS because Ghana’s process is the best. The structure ensures that charges are tied directly to service delivery, simplifies accountability, and prevents arbitrary cost escalation. Ghana’s model demonstrates how a capped, transparent, and proportionate cost structure, coupled with government-managed inspection infrastructure, supports compliance with global standards,” the council stated.
Under Ghana’s Export and Import (Amendment) Act 585 of 2000, importers pay an inspection fee capped at two per cent of the total dutiable cost, insurance, and freight value, as prescribed by the Minister through legislative instruments. NCMDLCA argued that Nigeria could benefit from a similar framework that ties charges to service delivery while maintaining regulatory oversight.
The council further warned that Nigeria’s current model, established under the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, has embedded multiple levies and fees—including a four per cent Free-on-Board (FOB) levy on imports, cost-based user fees, advance ruling fees, and special service charges—that escalate port costs. NCMDLCA noted that these multilayered charges “significantly raise the cost of doing business at the nation’s ports, undermine trade competitiveness, and contravene international trade facilitation standards.”
Highlighting the negative implications, the group stated that Nigeria’s financing framework inflates port charges, discourages foreign and domestic investment, and increases the financial burden on importers, manufacturers, and licensed customs agents.
NCMDLCA called on President Tinubu to establish a review committee to align Nigeria’s customs funding and inspection systems with international best practices. The committee, the council suggested, should examine overlapping agency mandates, harmonize conflicting powers between the Minister and other agencies, and simplify processes to reduce port costs, which are currently among the highest in West and Central Africa.
“The committee should review the Nigeria NCS Act 2023 to identify duplication, contradictions, and usurping of powers that conflict with the clearance process,” the council added. “Such reforms would harmonize procedures, minimize port costs, and enhance Nigeria’s trade competitiveness.”
