The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plan to introduce e-invoicing has come under serious criticism from freight forwarders as the practitioners allege that the move is a ploy to take Nigeria back to pre-shipment inspection (PSI) regime.
Following the CBN guideline issued on the introduction of e-valuation and e-invoicing, some freight forwarders have asserted that it’s curious that both Finance Ministry and the CBN are championing e-invoicing.
A veteran freight forwarder and former President of National Association of Government Registered Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke said the e-invoicing was simply a designed conspiracy against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to butress the earlier public threat to take over its functions by the Ministry of Finance.
Recall that the Finance Ministry had earlier called during a public hearing that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should be allowed to collect duties at the nation’s ports.
Nweke said the monetary policy was in conflict with fiscal policy, saying the e-invoicing is being targeted at taking Nigeria back to Pre-shipment Inspection ( PSI).
His words: “Conflict of interest so glaring, as same supervisory Minister vetoed the e-custom modernization and consented to the e-evaluator and e-invoicing. The move amounts to both double handling and taxation, both at the origin port and destination port.
“The operational pedigree, performance and capacity of the Contractor or Consultant is not known by the Nigerian lawmakers, and the biding process for official engagement is not in the public knowledge.”
“The initiative will increase the cost of importation into the country, with its contributory infractions to the ailing economic hardship in the land ( aka worsening inflation and weakening the citizens purchasing power. The consultancy services fee, terms & conditions or contract value payable to the consultant is not in the public knowledge”.
Nweke argued that was even surprising was that there was not sensitization of the stakeholders prior to contractual engagements.
According to him, the initiative was aimed at subtly moving to usurp Nigeria Customs of its functions.
He called on the Federal Executive Council cum NASS to take a second look to the incessant engagements of army of occupation by some of its agencies, all in the name of “food for the boys”
Meanwhile, he observed that with the present destination inspection regime, it was the duty of the Customs to evaluate or raise value for trade goods coming into or leaving the country.
“When you set a parallel consultant to receive e-invoice into their portal and to re-evaluate it at a set benchmark, it amounts to usurping of the customs function”, he said.
