e-Invoicing: MAN Commends CBN, Calls for Postponement of Implementation Date

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended recent move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sanitise foreign trade transactions through the recent introduction of e-Invoicing which would enable the country achieve near accurate value of imports and exports.

The Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a statement yesterday, stated that the association had examined the recent circular issued by the CBN titled: “Guidelines on the Introduction of e-Invoicing for Import and Export in Nigeria,” and was, “persuaded that it has some measure of impact on the foreign exchange profile of the country, which appears to be a major reason for the guidelines. “

Ajayi-Kadir, however, pleaded that the CBN should suspend the policy guidelines for now and give adequate consideration for a stakeholders’ dialogue with a view to addressing their concerns.

He noted that this was it was necessary that the apex bank’s attention be drawn to some issues that require clarifications and others that should be reviewed because the new regulation would affect the opportunity of Nigerian exporters to derive higher value for their exports.

He said, “there is need to ensure that the CBN does not go ahead to implement the guidelines without accommodating the constructive inputs of stakeholders, especially those whose businesses would be negatively impacted.”

He also stated that the 11 days’ grace between the introduction of the guideline and its effective date was rather hasty and therefore called for a review.

According to him, transaction already initiated before the introduction of the guideline should be exempted.

“We noted that the implementation date on the circular is scheduled for February 1, 2022; whereas the guideline itself was issued on the 21st January, 2022. This is just 11 days’ grace before implementation.

“This is rather hasty. A circular on monetary or fiscal guidelines requires adequate adjustment time. This is more so when it involves international trade and transactions where a minimum of 90 days’ allowance of time is normally required, as many operators would have opened Form M and concluded deals either for import of export.

“Straightaway, one must say that transactions already embarked upon before the commencement of the guidelines should be exempted and the commencement date should be extended by a minimum of 90 days.

“The new regulation is primarily aimed at achieving near accurate value of imports and exports in Nigeria. It says any Form M or NXP that bears a unit price in excess of 2.5 per cent of the verified global checkmate price will not be approved. This is concerning as it will checkmate the opportunity of our exporters to derive higher value for their exports. Besides, we are worried about the determination of global price verification mechanism and benchmark prices,” he said.

The director general of the MAN asked: “What happens if some companies are able to negotiate better prices due to their scale of order and are able to get competitive lower prices? Will these competitive prices be within the benchmark?”

MAN also pointed out that the policy would lead to several challenges on valuation down the line including a floodgate of valuation issues with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

“We also seek clarification on paragraph D of the guidelines; wherein the CBN is directing that … ‘the content of the electronic invoice authenticated by Authorised Dealer Banks is only advisory for the NCS. This means that the NCS may vary it, probably uplift the FOB when issuing the PAAR.

“MAN considers CBN and NCS as agencies of the federal government and hence should harmonise their functions in this regard. Otherwise, businesses and indeed our members will be subjected to paying unnecessary and additional FOB upliftment by the NCS. This is in addition to a situation that may arise where the CBN forces such importer or manufacturer to reduce its price if it is considered not in conformity with the benchmark pricing,” MAN said.

It also pointed out that the CBN’s directive that suppliers and buyers to transmit their authenticated invoices through the CBN appointed service provider to the Nigeria Single Window portal would introduce unnecessary bureaucratic bottleneck.

“While MAN considers this measure as a step to check perceived malpractices, we believed that the essence of Single Window’ policy is being diminished and this could introduce unnecessary bureaucracy with attendant multiple charges. We already contend with this type of anomaly and could ill afford any addition. It will also be a disincentive to local and foreign investors,” it said.