Nigeria, UK Customs move to seal new deal on trade, intelligence sharing
By Maureen Aguta
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have moved closer to concluding a landmark Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMAA) aimed at deepening trade cooperation, improving compliance and strengthening information sharing between both countries.
The two customs administrations are expected to finalise negotiations ahead of the proposed signing of the agreement in December, following a two-day high-level bilateral meeting held at the NCS headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
The meeting, which began on Thursday and ended on Friday, September 26, brought together senior officials from both administrations to resolve outstanding issues in the proposed agreement.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, the Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of the Strategic, Research and Policy Department, Nafi’u Isyaku, said the physical meeting was convened to conclude negotiations that had been conducted virtually for about six months.
Isyaku said the proposed agreement would provide a stronger framework for cooperation between the two customs administrations, particularly in the areas of information exchange, enforcement and trade facilitation.
“The meeting is to finalise our Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMAA). We have been doing it virtually for some six months now. We decided to come here in person so that we can finalise the negotiations before the final signing, which hopefully is coming up in the first week of December during the World Customs Organisation Policy Commission meeting,” he said.
The development is expected to strengthen cooperation between Nigeria and the UK on customs matters, particularly through improved access to relevant trade and compliance information needed to support legitimate commerce and enforcement activities.
Senior Policy Adviser at HMRC, Syed Moinuddin, said the bilateral engagement provided an opportunity for both administrations to work through areas of cooperation and develop a framework that reflects the interests of the two customs authorities.
He said the discussions would further strengthen the relationship between the NCS and HMRC within the wider international customs community.
Also, Head of Bilateral Relations and Agreements at HMRC, Louisa Bentley, described the two-day negotiations as successful, noting that both sides were now close to concluding the agreement.
Bentley said the proposed CMAA would contribute to increased trade by improving compliance and information sharing between HMRC and the NCS.
According to her, stronger cooperation between the two administrations would also enhance trade facilitation and enable both countries to take greater advantage of opportunities in global trade.
The HMRC delegation also commended the ongoing reforms at the NCS after touring key facilities at the Customs headquarters.
The facilities visited included the Trade Modernisation Project Limited office, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report office and the Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network station.
Bentley said the delegation had observed significant improvements in technology deployment and personnel development within the NCS.
“We have seen significant developments in technology and personnel training,” she said, adding that the reforms would support more modern and efficient trade processes.
The bilateral engagement formed part of continuing efforts by both administrations to strengthen customs cooperation and establish mechanisms for more effective collaboration in international trade.
The meeting ended with a tour of selected departments and operational units at the NCS headquarters, giving the HMRC delegation an opportunity to assess some of the technological, administrative and operational reforms being implemented by the Nigerian Customs Service.