Business
Licensed Customs Agents Seek Clarification on Commencement Date of Zero Duty
We noticed a serious conflict between the date of the implementation of the Presidential Order, and the Ministers of Finance’s Circular
Wale Edun, Minister of Finance
The National Council of Managing Directors Of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) says that the Presidential Order on Inflation Reduction and Price Stability conflicts with the Minister of Finance Circular on zero duty rate on basic food items.
” We request that the conflict of Presidential Order on Inflation Reduction and Price stability (Fiscal policy measures, etc) Order 1st May 2024 and the Minister of Finance Circular F17417/VI/T/6 of 8th August that was backdated to 15th of July, should be clarified,” said Lucky Eyis Amiwero, National President of NCMDLCA.
NCMDLCA in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, dated September 4, said: ” We hereby bring to the attention of the Federal Government of the two circulating instruments of the Federal Government with conflicting date of implementation and description of Fiscal Policy content.
We noticed a serious conflict between the date of the implementation of the Presidential Order, and the Ministers of Finance’s Circular, while the Presidential Order gave the date of commencement as 1st of May 2024, the Minister of Finance’s Letter was backdated to 15th July 2024 as the Commencement date, while the Finance Circular was dated 8th of August which was received by the Nigeria Customs Service on the 13th August and issued to the Trading public on 14th August by service
The area of concern to the Trading public is whether the Minister of Finance drew its strength from the Presidential Order, approved by the President that is, the Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal policy measure, etc) order, 2024, which is supposed to commence on the 1st May 2024, or the President issued a fresh order and suspend the Order that has been signed because nothing is said on the Presidential Order that has been in circulation before the Minister’s Circular and Customs implementing circular
Furthermore, the date of the Minister’s Circular was backdated by almost one(1) month, which is not in line with the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Nigeria being a contracting party to the Agreement, which states, in Article 2: opportunities and appropriate time period shall be provided to traders and other interested parties on new or amendment laws and regulations of general application.
Related to the movement, release, and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, are published or Information on then, giving enough time to be made otherwise publicly available, as early as possible before they entered into force, to enable traders and other interested parties to become acquainted with them.
Amiwero said that the clarification is very important to eliminate the use of dollarizing the domestic market and to stabilize it for consistent, predictable, and transparent transactions.▪︎
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Business
WEF could appoint Lagarde as its next chair, sources say
The WEF’s Board of Trustees, which includes Lagarde herself, was due to meet on November 2 and could elect her as its next chair, said the people close to the organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
•European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde
The World Economic Forum could appoint Christine Lagarde as its next chair as soon as next month, four people close to the organisation told Reuters, meaning she would step down early as European Central Bank chief and trigger a wider reshuffle at the top of the ECB.Lagarde’s ECB term is scheduled to end in October 2027.
Leaving early would give European Union leaders a chance to pick a new ECB President before France’s spring presidential election, which opinion polls suggest the far-right could win, and could pave the way for a deal involving two other senior ECB roles.
The WEF’s Board of Trustees, which includes Lagarde herself, was due to meet on November 2 and could elect her as its next chair, said the people close to the organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
No final decision has been taken yet, they said.
A spokesperson for the WEF said the forum could not confirm when the next full Board of Trustees meeting would take place, but that the aim was to hold one before the end of the year.
Business
Germany plans tax on sugary drinks
The tax is expected to generate additional revenue for the federal government of €690 million in 2027 and €925 million in 2028.
The German cabinet has approved draft legislation to tax sugary drinks in Europe’s biggest economy.
If passed by the German Bundestag, the tax will take effect on 1 July 2027.
The coalition aims to raise revenue for the federal budget while encouraging manufacturers to reduce sugar content and offer healthier products.
The levy is intended to ease pressure on the healthcare system, which faces costs of more than €2 billion every year linked to the high consumption of sugary drinks, which contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
According to the federal government, Berlin is using the tax to implement “what associations from the fields of health, science, child protection, and consumer protection have long been demanding.”
The tax is expected to generate additional revenue for the federal government of €690 million in 2027 and €925 million in 2028.
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