The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the Customs and Excise Management Act 2004.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs during plenary on Wednesday.
Presenting the bill, the Committee Chairman, Senator Francis Alimikhena (Edo North), said the bill amongst others, seeks to assist the Nigeria Customs Service administration in driving economic growth and trade facilitation.
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He added that bill when signed into law would make the NCS a legal entity under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning with a Board to serve Nigerians and facilitate international trade.
According to him, the bill which has 283 clauses, also seeks to bring the Customs and Excise Management Act in line with modern-day Customs operations globally; and provide for the NCS a consolidated single legal reference document instead of multiple enactments.
He noted that the piece of legislation also makes provision for the use of electronic documents, electronic payments and other information technology that applies to modern Customs Administration.
The bill after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole was passed by the chamber.
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