Nigeria Customs Participates in 74th WHO Harmonised Meeting

Nigeria Customs Participates in 74th WHO Harmonised Meeting.

By Joe Njoku,

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) delegates led by Assistant Comptroller Abubakar Hardo, Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Ekay Asuquo and CSC Lauretta Utubor participated in the World Customs Organization (WCO) 74th Harmonised System Committee (HSC) Meeting, held at the WCO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Reports has it that, the Harmonised System Committee played a n important role in managing the Harmonised System Nomenclature (HSN), which serves as a vital tool for facilitating global trade by providing a standardised system for the classification of goods.

As a contracting Party, Nigeria’s participation in the HSC is pivotal considering the nation’s large market index in Africa leading to high volumes of imports from across the globe. The impact of these policies, particularly on Customs formalities, has far-reaching economic consequences, making Nigeria’s contributions to such discussions critical.

The HSC focuses primarily on the tariff classification of goods, ensuring that products are correctly categorised under the Harmonised System Nomenclature. This involves detailed information on goods description and the appropriate barricades of headings align with legal provisions and explanatory notes. The HSC ensures that global trade remains efficient, transparent and standardised through this process.

Additionally, the opportunity to raise tariff classification issues that may have caused prolonged disputes between customs and economic operators allow for an objective resolution aided by input from other Contracting Parties.

A delegate from Nigeria who happens to be a beneficiary of the WCO 88th fellowship programme, CSC Lauretta Utubor, the Team Lead for Advance Rulings in Nigeria, made a presentation at the Leadership Management Development workshop.

The presentation, which also too place at the Headquarters of WCO in Brussels emphasised the role of essential tools such as self-awareness, strategic communication, political will, intentionality, people management, and the change management played towards the successful implementation of Advance Rulings in Nigeria.

Also, she underscored Nigeria’s dedication to adopting global best practices and the comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, commitment towards promoting trade facilitation and customs modernisation.

The high level engagement with technical experts from customs administration worldwide enables Nigeria to enhance its decision-making capacity when issuing legally binding advice to economic operators.

Furthermore, the insights gained from the 74th HSC Meeting are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s customs processes and contribute to the nation’s continued leadership in trade facilitation on the African Continent.