Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) joins in the 74th World Customs Organisation (WCO)
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recently participated in the 74th World Customs Organization (WCO) Harmonised System Committee (HSC) Meeting, held in Brussels, Belgium. The NCS delegates, led by Assistant Comptroller Abubakar Hardo, Chief Superintendent of Customs Ekay Asuquo, and CSC Lauretta Utubor, Team Lead for Advance Rulings, actively engaged in discussions on tariff classification of goods, ensuring correct categorization under the Harmonised System Nomenclature.
The Harmonised System Committee (HSC) is indeed a vital player in managing the Harmonised System Nomenclature (HSN), which is crucial for facilitating global trade. By providing a standardized system for classifying goods, the HSN ensures that international trade runs smoothly and efficiently.
Nigeria’s involvement in the Harmonised System Committee (HSC) is crucial, considering its significant market presence in Africa, which attracts substantial imports from worldwide. As a Contracting Party, Nigeria’s participation has far-reaching economic implications, especially regarding customs formalities, making its contributions to these discussions vital.
The Harmonised System Committee (HSC) plays a vital role in ensuring that international trade runs smoothly and efficiently. Its primary focus is on tariff classification, which involves categorizing products under the Harmonised System Nomenclature (HSN). This complex process requires detailed discussions on goods descriptions, tariff codes, and headings that align with legal provisions and explanatory notes.
Additionally, the opportunity to raise tariff classification issues that may have caused prolonged disputes between customs and economic operators allows for an objective resolution aided by input from other Contracting Parties.
CSC Lauretta Utubor, Team Lead for Advance Rulings in Nigeria and a beneficiary of the WCO 88th fellowship programme, recently made a presentation at the Leadership Management Development workshop held at the World Customs Organization’s headquarters in Brussels. Her presentation highlighted the crucial role of essential tools in successfully implementing Advance Rulings in Nigeria, which includes self-awareness, strategic Communication, political will, intentionality, people management, change management. Utubor’s presentation showcased Nigeria’s commitment to adopting global best practices and promoting trade facilitation and customs modernization
This high-level engagement with technical experts from customs administrations 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.
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