LCCI expresses concerns over proposed Nigerian Revenue Services

THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed concerns over the proposed merger of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) into the Nigerian Revenue Services (NRS).

President of the chamber, Michael Olawale-Cole, expressed these concerns in a statement on Tuesday.

He advised the government to engage critical stakeholders to ensure such merger is carried out without impeding the ease of doing business, which could be a fallout of such merger.

While commending the new government on its policies aimed at improving efficiency in tax and levies collection, the LCCI boss, however, said he would not want such policies carried out without ensuring that the fallout of staff rationalisation, realignment of operating structure, accountability and transparency are adequately dealt with.

He expressed the chamber’s support to the Federal Government in its efforts at curbing the rising cost of governance, its readiness to declare a state of emergency on revenue generation and its resolve at tackling them headlong.

Olawale-Cole also urged the new administration to halt the revenue leakage of more than $5 billion paid as freight to foreign ship owners.

“While we commend the government on some of its recent measures to stop wasteful spending, we urge the administration to halt the revenue leakage of more than $5 billion paid as freight to foreign ship owners.

“The Chamber’s perspectives are in tandem with the government’s need to check the over-bloated and inefficient workforce of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”

“Regarding the merger, we are willing to nudge the government to embrace critical stakeholders’ engagement and consultation, which we hope will provide further insights into charter-specific responsibilities and possibilities,” he stated.

He also commended the government on the recently-released Executive Orders, which he argued will go a long way in curbing arbitrary taxation policies.

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