The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 2004. The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs.
Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Francis Alimikhena (APC-Edo), in his presentation on Wednesday at the plenary, said the bill amongst others, and seeks to assist the Nigeria Customs Service administration in driving economic growth and trade facilitation.
He said the bill when signed into law would make the NCS a legal entity under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning with a Board to serve Nigerians and facilitate international trade.
According to him, the bill which has 283 clauses, also seeks to bring the Customs and Excise Management Act in line with modern day Customs operation globally.
“It will also provide for the NCS a consolidated single legal reference document instead of multiple enactments,’’ he said.
He said that the bill makes provision for the use of electronic documents, electronic payments and other information technology that are applicable to modern Customs administration.
The chamber after a clause-by-clause consideration, passed the bill.
