The pre-export requirements recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria is currently frustrating the export of goods from Nigeria to other nations, exporters declared on Wednesday.
Speaking under the aegis of the Network of Practicing Non-oil Exporters of Nigeria, they stated that the electronic Nigeria Export Proceed Form being required by the bank from exporters had come with enormous bottlenecks.
The President, NPNEN, Ahmed Rabiu, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the new procedure had so many layers of activities that often led to delays and loss of income on the part of exporters.
He said, “We acknowledge the CBN’s desire to ensure that all exports out of Nigeria are documented in order to ensure that the proceeds of such exports are repatriated.
“However, the reality on the field shows that the process is causing undue delays and consequently, encouraging corruption.”
In the new pre-export requirements, the CBN wants an export transaction to be initiated through eNXP processing on the trade monitoring system.
Exporters stated that after this, the pre-shipment inspection agent, the Nigeria Customs Service and other designated government agencies would now carry out their pre-export inspections.
They stated that the PIA was expected to issue a Clean Certificate of Inspection, while the Customs would issue the Single Good Declaration.
According to them, a recent report showed that N868bn worth of goods bound for export were stuck at the ports due to the new procedure, as they called for urgent attention to reverse the trend.
Providing further explanation, Rabiu said, “For example, for the PIA to issue the CCI, the exporter is required to upload a certificate of origin as one of the supporting documents for the eNXP.
“The PIA is also required to upload the CCI to the TRMS(M) and until this is done, the Customs service will not issue the Single Good Declaration.”
He added, “After issuing the SGD, the customs is further required to upload it into the TRMS before the goods are allowed to be gated into the port and loaded on the vessel by the shipping line.”
He argued that the layers created by the new CBN procedure had made the export of goods from Nigeria cumbersome, as it had also led to the deterioration and losses for agro commodity exporters.
