Section 281: Interpretation

1 In this Act -

"advance rulings" means a written decision provided by the Service to an applicant prior to the importation of the goods covered by the application that sets forth the treatment that shall be provided to the goods at the time of importation, based upon the facts presented by the applicant which may pertain to tariff classification, valuation and origin, the method to be used to determine customs value, duty drawback, quotas, fees and charges applicable or additional matters;
"appeal" means a written application by which an aggrieved person affected by a decision or omission of the Service seeks redress before a competent authority;
"assessment of duties, Customs duties and other charges" means the determination of amount of duties, Customs duties and other charges payable;
"audit-based control" means measures by which the Service verifies or satisfies as to the accuracy and authenticity of declarations through the examination of the relevant books, records, business systems and commercial data held by persons concerned;
"Board" means the governing Board of the Nigeria Customs Service;
"carrier" means the person actually transporting goods, in charge of or responsible for the operation of the means of conveyance;
"carriage of goods coastwise" means the procedure under which certain goods are loaded on board a vessel at a place in Nigeria and transported to another place in Nigeria, where they are unloaded;
"certificate of origin" means the specified form identifying certain goods, in which the authority empowered to issue it certifies expressly that the goods to which the certificate relates to, originate in a specific country, and which may include a declaration by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or other competent person with knowledge concerning the origin of the goods;
"checking the goods declaration" means the actions taken by the Service to satisfy themselves that the goods declaration is correctly made out and that the supporting documents required fulfill the prescribed conditions;
"clearance" means the accomplishment of the customs formalities necessary to allow goods to enter home use, or to be exported, or to be placed under another customs procedure;
"Comptroller-General" means the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service;
"cost-based user fees" means all fees and charges, excluding import and export duties and other Customs duties, imposed in connection with the importation, exportation and transit of goods and such fees and charges are imposed only for services rendered in connection with the importation and exportation of goods or for any formality required for undertaking such importation and exportation;
"customs control or customs controls" means measures applied by customs to ensure compliance with customs law;
"customs control zone" means an area within or outside the customs territory, and suitable for, or already recognised as, a center of international trade, and is normally part of an international port, an international land border crossing, an international airport, or export processing or free zone, and is suitable and able to provide a high level of service in terms of traffic flows and clearance demands
which may be designated by the Comptroller-General as customs control zone for the purpose of administering or enforcing customs control;
"customs debt" means the obligation on a person to pay the amount of duties, Customs duties and other charges which apply under customs legislation;
“customs duties” means the duties provided for in the custom tariff to which goods are liable on entering or leaving the customs territory and includes other Customs duties collected on behalf of other government agencies;
"customs formalities" means all the operations which must be carried out by the person concerned or by the Service in order to comply with customs law;
"customs law" means the statutory and regulatory provisions relating to importation, exportation, excise, transit, trans-shipment movement or storage goods, the administration and enforcement which are specifically charged to the Service, and any regulations made by the Service under their statutory power;
"customs office" means the customs administrative unit competent for the performance of customs formalities, and the premises or other areas approved for that purpose by the competent authorities;
"officer" means any officer employed by the Service whose duty it is to require the performance of, or to perform, acts relating to enforcement of the customs laws;
“customs representative” or "third party" means customs licensed agent, broker or any person who deals directly with the Service, for and on behalf of another person, relating to customs matters;
"customs territory" means the territory in which the customs laws of Nigeria applies;
"decision" means the action by which the Service decide upon a matter relating to customs law;
"declarant" means any person who make a goods declaration or in whose name such a declaration is made;
"due date" means the date when payment of duties, Customs duties or other charges is due;
"ECOWAS" means the Economic Community of West African States;
"ECOWAS goods" means goods originated in the customs territory of ECOWAS which shall be presumed to have the statues of ECOWAS goods unless it is establish that they are not ECOWAS goods;
"examination of goods" means the physical or electronic inspection of goods by the Service or designee of the Service to satisfy themselves that the nature, origin,
condition, quantity and value of the goods are in accordance with the particulars furnished in the goods declarations;
"exporter" means any person who at the time of exportation -
(a) owns any of the goods exported;
(b) carries the risk of any goods exported;
(c) represents the exporter or owner of any goods exported;
(d) actually takes any goods out of the customs territory with the intention to export such goods;
(e) is beneficially interested in any goods exported; or
(f) bears ultimate legal liability for the exportation of goods;
"FAAC" means Federal Allocation Account Committee;
"free zone" means an export processing zone, free trade zone, free port, or special economic zone or similar region, which is a part of the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where goods introduced are regarded as being outside the customs territory and therefore not subject to duties and Customs duties;
"goods declaration" means a statement made in the manner prescribed by the Service, by which the persons concerned indicated the customs procedure to be applied to the goods and furnish the particulars which the Service require for its application;
"Government" means the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
"guarantee" or "security" means a commitment from bank which ensures to the satisfaction of the Service that obligation to the Service will be fulfilled, and security is described as "general" when it ensures that the obligations arising from several operations will be fulfilled;
"he" includes "she" and "his" includes "her";
"importer" means any person who -
(a) at the time of importation owns any goods imported;
(b) carries the risk of any goods imported;
(c) represents the importer or owner of any goods imported;
(d) actually brings any goods into the customs territory with the intention to import such goods;
(e) is beneficially interested in any goods imported; or
(f) bears ultimate legal liability for the importation of goods;
"Management Committees" means the Committee set up under section 14(5) of this Act;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for finance;
"Mutual Administrative Assistance" means actions of a customs administration on behalf of or in collaboration with another customs administration for the proper application of customs laws and for the prevention, investigation and repression of customs offences;
"omission" means the failure to act or give a decision required of the Service under customs law within a reasonable time on a matter duly submitted to them;
"NAFDAC" means National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control;
"person" means both natural and legal person, including Nigerian and Foreign government agencies;
"preferential tariff rate" means tariff rates that are lower rates (including zero rates) than the normal tariff applied to imports and preferential tariff rate may be applied to the imports originating in countries that have acceded to bilateral or regional trade agreements with the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
"preferential origin" means the economic nationality of goods related to trade agreements which grant members access to domestic market at preferential tariffs;
"non-preferential origin" means to goods traded between countries not linked by any preferential trade agreement;
“regulations” means regulations made pursuant of this Act;
"release of goods" means the actions by the Service to permit goods ongoing clearance to be placed at the disposal of the persons concerned;
"repayment" means the refund of duties and Customs duties paid on goods and the remission of duties and Customs duties where payment has not been made;
"risk" means the likelihood of an event that may occur, with regard to the entry, exit, transit, transfer or end-use of goods moved between the customs territory and territories outside that customs territory, which would -
(a) prevent the correct application of customs laws or national legal measures,
(b) compromise the financial interests ofNigeria;
(c) pose a threat to the security and safety of Nigeria and its residents, human, animal or plant health, or the environment;
"risk management" means the systematic identification of risk and the implementation of all measures necessary for limiting exposure to risk;
"security" or "guarantee" means commitment from bank which ensures to the satisfaction of the Service that an obligation to customs will be fulfilled, and security is described as “general” when it ensures that the obligations arising from several operations will be fulfilled;
“Service” means the Nigeria Customs Service established under section 1 of this act;
"single window" means a facility by which a person can submit documentation and data requirements for exportation, importation, excise and transit procedures to a single entry point by electronic means, provided that where such person is not resident in Nigeria, he has a representative resident in Nigeria who shall be legally responsible for submissions so made, and the single window then undertakes onward distribution of documents and data to all relevant authorities or agencies which require them;
"SON" means Standards Organisation of Nigeria;
"temporary storage of goods" means the storing of goods under customs control in premises and enclosed or unenclosed spaces approved by the Service, pending lodgment of the goods declaration;
"trader" means any non-government person or persons involved directly or indirectly with import, export or excise transaction;
"trans-shipment" means the customs procedure by which goods are transferred under customs control from the importing means of conveyance to the exporting means of conveyance; and
“transit procedure” means the customs procedure by which goods are conveyed under custom control, from one custom office to another.
(2) The provision of this Act shall be interpreted to be consistent with the provisions of the following international agreements to the extent that such International Agreements and Convention have been approved or domesticated by the National Assembly in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.