Customs and excise amendment bills passed in Parliament

The bill, which contains 16 clauses among other things, aims to amend the Customs Act Section 85 (Act 235) to give the Customs Department director-general the power to determine the form and manner of declaration of duty-free goods exported by rail.

The amendment also aims to enable the Finance Minister to extend the period stipulated under Act 235 to perform an act or thing if he is satisfied that this cannot be completed due to any public emergency or public health crisis.

The Customs (Amendment) Bill 2022 presented by the Second Deputy Finance Minister Yamani Hafez Musa was approved after a debate by five Members of Parliament.

Yamani Hafez, when winding up the debate on the bill, said the main focus of the amendment to Act 235 was to facilitate taxpayers in the event of any public emergency and public health crisis.

"The proposed Customs (Amendment) Bill 2022 is intended to improve the country's taxation legislations in line with current business changes.

"This major amendment to Act 235 is a result of what we have learned following the COVID-19 pandemic where the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has limited many business activities and operations," he said.

This, he said, has resulted in taxpayers unable to fulfill their obligations under the act.

Parliament today also passed the Excise (Amendment) Bill 2022, which among other things, aims to give the Customs director-general the authority to determine the form and method of claiming a refund of any overpaid or wrongly paid money, and order that money be returned if this can be proven.

In wrapping up the debate on the bill, Yamani Hafez said the main focus of the amendment to Act 176 under the Excise (Amendment) Bill 2022 will help taxpayers to fulfill their obligations under the act.

He also said the amendment will centralised references for tax forms, making it easier to industrial sectors.

"If there are changes to details in the form, it will be in line with the passage of time and updating the form will also be easier and faster to implement," he said.