Section 106: Requirement for acting as customs representative

1 A person shall not for compensation make entry of, or lodge a goods declaration for another person or act for another person in connection with other customs transactions unless licensed under the provisions of this Act and regulations made under this Act.

2 The Service shall make regulations concerning the licensing and regulating of customs representatives, including qualifications regarding citizenship, residence, and knowledge of the laws, regulations and customs procedures of the Federal Republic of Nigeria required for a person to engage in the business of a customs representative.

3 A person shall not be licensed as a customs representative, or maintain a license as a customs representative if he -
a has been convicted of a customs offence or other criminal offences in the past 10 years;
b has consistently failed to fulfill his obligations to principals or to the Service, including repeated instance of gross negligence or infringement of customs rules and regulations;
c has failed to pay the license fee required by the Service and to comply with other licensing requirements;
d is not a registered member of an approved Freight Forwarding Association in Nigeria; or
e is not a citizen of Nigeria.

4 The Service shall provide prompt written notice to a customs representative of a decision not to conduct business with that representative, setting forth reasons for its refusal to conduct business.

5 Customs representatives shall be liable to the Service for the prompt payment of all Customs debts imposed on their Principals and on themselves and they shall be subject to penalties for failure to meet these obligations, as may be provided in this Act and in regulations made under this Act.

6 Before any person is licensed as a customs representative, he shall furnish a guarantee in the form and for the amount as the Service may require under regulations made under this Act.

7 A customs representative may be required at any time to produce documentary evidence of its right to transact business with the Service for and on behalf of another person and the proof shall be a document in such form as the Service may require.

8 The Service shall also maintain a registry of authorised customs representatives on the Service's website.

9 The record keeping provisions contained in this Act shall apply to customs representatives.

10 Any person who carries on business as a customs representative in violation of the provisions of subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N1,500,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years or both.

11 Any licensed customs representative who violates the provisions of this Act or regulations made under this Act shall be liable to such penalties as may be prescribed in the regulations.