The Nigeria Customs Service and the United Kingdoms tax authority His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs held a two-day meeting at the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters in Abuja to advance a trade cooperation agreement, the NCS said.
According to a statement to journalists by NCS Spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada, the discussions were aimed at finalising a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement, or CMAA, to strengthen information sharing, compliance and trade facilitation between the two administrations. The HMRC delegation was led by its Policy Adviser, Syed Moinuddin.
The NCS Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, the statement said, described the meeting as part of efforts to conclude negotiations on the agreement ahead of its proposed signing in December. Mr Adeniyi was represented at the talks by Nafi’u Isyaku, the assistant comptroller-general in charge of the Strategic, Research and Policy Department.
“We decided to come here in person so that we can finalise the negotiations before the final signing, which hopefully is coming up in the first week of December during the World Customs Organisation Policy Commission meeting,” the statement quoted the comptroller-general as saying.
The NCS said the two sides had run negotiations virtually for about six months before deciding to meet in person at the Abuja headquarters to resolve outstanding issues.
HMRC Policy Adviser Syed Moinuddin described the in-person meeting as an opportunity for both customs administrations to work through areas of cooperation and build a framework that reflected the two authorities interests, the NCS statement said.
Louisa Bentley, head of bilateral relations and agreements at HMRC, told the visiting delegation that the two days of talks had been successful and that both sides were close to finalising the agreement, the statement added. Bentley said the accord would boost trade by improving compliance and information sharing between HMRC and the NCS, and would enhance trade facilitation for both partners.
“We have seen significant developments in technology and personnel training, adding that the reforms would support more modern and efficient trade processes,” the statement quoted Ms Bentley as saying.
The meeting concluded with a tour of key NCS departments and facilities, the statement said. NCS officials led the delegation through the Trade Modernisation Project Limited office, the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report office, and the Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network station to showcase recent reforms and operational improvements.
The NCS statement was the source for these details and comments from both Nigerian and UK officials. Premium Times reported the meeting and attributed the account to a Nan dispatch summarising the NCS release.
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