By Uzor Odigbo
Maritime group under the aegis of Sea Empowerment Research Centre has advocated for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to desist from the act of incessant increment of exchange rate for customs duty.
Reacting to the recent hike in Customs duty to N1,356/$, Head Of Research at Sea Empowerment Research Center, Dr Eugene Nweke, said dishing out fiscal and monetary policies without recourse to weighing it’s economic implications in every sense of responsive leadership via a crystal and statutory feedback mechanism, falls short of the renewed hope mantra.
The Centre believed that one of the core object of the renewed hope mantra, should stem from rising from the old order to more requisite new order, especially in application.
According to Nweke, the centre believes that the ministry has a duty to know how many business are closing shops per month; how many are down sizing weekly, monthly and quarterly; what is the population out of job Nigerians; how stable is the labour market under the prevailing circumstances; how has the inflation rate affected the purchasing power of the citizenry; the contributory effect of this policy/increments to the ailing economic hardship and poverty in the land; its contributory effect to the insecurity in the land, etc.
“Shying away from undertaking a deliberate review on these critical concerns, to say the least, tantamounts to a mere display of poor administrative sensitivity to the impulse to the well being of the citizenry and commercial environment of the nation.
“It has been argued and still an ongoing argument at different quarters whether the CBN “Duty Exchange Rate Increment” is or not often the determination nor the function of market forces? It was rather reasoned that, at many instances, incessant revenue escalating methodology in this regards is a deliberate act, aka monthly ritual to aide higher or surplus revenue spines and if care is not taken, may snowball into forth nightly application.
“Therefore, there is need for the fiscal policy makers to do a total system re-evaluation, with a third eyes to specifically monitor some of the deployed regulatory tools, so far. Expectedly, every aspects of our monetary policy tool must be geared to thrive on a level playing field, devoid of preferential treatments or application, so that, the market forces determination will not be a theory but practicality,” he said.
Nweke said the Centre observed the associated trade documentary disruption in the administration of the foreign exchange regime with regards to the International Chamber of Commerce – (ICC) Rules on Uniforms Customs and Practice (UCP) for Documentary Credits, that is the general application of the UCP 600, the Form M regulations comes under consideration.
“Though, it could be contested that the rules do not have the force of law, but given legal effect by their incorporation into mutimodal transport contracts, notwithstanding, where monetary policies tends to ignore its stipulations on the life span of 1 year duration of its Form M transctional applications and treatments on imports, thus, shippers imports landed post Form M opening to met the new exchange rate, should not be subjected to uniform treatment at the point of import clearance nor subjected to undue queries and associated delays.
Fiscal policy must not been seen as to overtaxing trade, especially trade amongst other country, rather in a distressed economy, like ours, fiscal policies considers tax options on wealth/luxury ( such as estate, gift taxes or annual wealth taxes), while being mindful of the activities of a handful feifdom and dynasties known as “economic aristocracies”.
“There is need for the Coordinating Minister to carry out an independent system study and analysis within the nations International trading climate, via an independent body. Such evaluation and recommendations will indeed, aide the ministry to restructure the monetary and fiscal policy formulation.
“The effects of these increasing foreign exchange rates in relation to servicing international loans, and other issues raised here, has to be looked into, because it is not a mere factor.
“It must be stated that monetary policy reforms must be done with a scalpel and not an axe, and by people who understand that, the problem of currency devaluation or the poor performance of the foreign exchange transactions is not truly caused by international trading or trades alone.
“It has been argued that, the cosy relationship and activities of some Currency Dealers (Bureau De Change) seems to be taking the shape of another form of concentration, even though, inevitable in a country of our size.
“Also, while its worthy to note that, the activities of money laundering and imports racketeers, by extension drug and arms trafficking (smugglers) has received prompt operational curtailment in the country, notwithstanding, it must be stated that, that their activities has gone more nuclear or sophisticated as its now emblemished with terroristic organizations.
According to Focus Nigeria Daily online, “fiscal policy makers, have a duty to understudy and discourage the activities of insider trading within the banks at all levels, with special focus on the the growing pace of hacking via internet banking. Fiscal policies must be deliberate at encouraging our most enterprising citizens to engage in other, more nationally beneficial money making ventures, for instance, international traders must be encouraged, and not driving them and their capital and associated job creations out of the country, via over taxation.
