Speaking
with stakeholders in Lagos recently, the Customs Area Comptroller of the
Tin-Can Island Command, Mr. Yusuf Bashar,
said that it had to sensitize the trading public particularly exporters on the
need to ensure that only exportable wood products are brought in to the port
adding that anything short of what the law permits will be confiscated.
Bashar also
said that the command had to bring in officials of the Federal Environment Protection Agency, (FEPA) to assist the Customs
in explaining and showing to exporters the difference between treated and
untreated wood products.
He explained
that exports do not attract any duty adding that in the light of falling oil
price, the government is trying to encourage Nigerians to export as much as
they can with a view to earn more foreign exchange.
“It
is an incentive to encourage export because it is assumed that money will come
to government based on exportable products from Nigeria most especially now
that Nigeria is having issue with crude oil.
“Price
per barrel is going down, it is our major foreign exchange earner so Nigerians
must be encouraged to export as much lawful products as possible. At a point,
we asked ourselves how we can encourage exports from our end, we thought that
the best way to do that was to sensitize the people and tell what exports are
allowed by law.
“We
took wood products as the first item amongst exportable products because it
attracts a lot of attention. The need for the campaign became imperative due to
the seeming confusion emanating from the export of wood products .
“So
we met exporters of wood products, freight forwarders of wood exporters, our
own Customs personnel and any interested members of the public and let them
know the categories of wood that are lawfully exportable,” he said.
According to
Bashar, other government agencies that approved such exports were also invited
to tell exporters what is called processed and semi processed woods. He opined
that the more there is communication, the higher the compliance level, adding
that unprocessed wood is banned from export. (Source: Vanguard)
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