A customs and tax expert, Okey Ibeke, says the duties of the Nigeria Customs Service are not only limited to revenue collection but involve highly technical operations.

Mr Ibeke stated this on Thursday in Abuja, following a public hearing on tax reform bills organised by the Special Committee on Tax Reform Bills on Wednesday.

He described the NCS as a specialised agency requiring advanced skills to effectively carry out its functions. He added that the proposed tax reforms could undermine its other specialised and critical operations.

The proposed reform bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

The comptroller-general of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, had stated that the proposed tax reforms aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to an efficient tax system for the country.

Mr Ibeke, however, said that the reform, if passed in situ, could jeopardise the customs service’s ability to perform its core functions.

He expressed concern that designated revenue agencies may lack the technical expertise, specialised workforce, and training to handle the assigned operation of the NCS.

According to him, these agencies might struggle to detect undervalued or misclassified goods, potentially leading to the acceptance of inaccurate importer declarations.

He added that NCS operations require applying rules of origin, which are essential for determining a product’s original source.

RoO, he said, is critical for assessing the value of imports, calculating appropriate revenue, and identifying fraudulent practices.

He said these are tasks that general tax administration systems could be ill-equipped to handle.

Mr Ibeke warned that passing the bills without necessary adjustments could render the NCS redundant and negatively impact revenue generation.

Mr Ibeke pointed out that the NCS has made significant strides in modernising its operations through its Trade Modernisation Project.

“The deployment of the ‘B Odogwu’ software, for instance, has contributed to increased revenue collection and positioned the service to surpass its 2025 revenue target,“ he said.

He urged the federal government to increase funding for the NCS to address revenue collection challenges rather than repealing the 2023 NCS Act, which took over eight years to pass into law.

Mr Ibeke called for a balanced approach to strengthen Nigeria’s tax system without compromising the critical functions of the existing revenue agencies.

(NAN)