30. Import licensing. Import licensing can be classified as open general or restricted. The open general import license is a notice published in the official gazette, permitting the importation of the goods covered by the license from any of the countries listed in the notice. It became legalized in 1950 with the definition of the sterling areas but was revoked in 1984. Dairy products were among the few commodities which enjoyed an open general import license. But occasionally, fresh milk was excluded from the open general license. Prior to 1959, the open general import license applied to the sterling areas, the OECD countries and the overseas possessions of the member of OECD countries. After 1959, it was extended to EEC countries and the United States of America.
31. Restricted import licenses are issued to import items which do not fall under the open general license. Such licenses are numbered and specify the quantity of goods to be imported and the countries from which such goods can be imported. Prior to 1959, payments in non-sterling currencies were not allowed for restricted license imports (Federal Government of Nigeria, 1961). Since 1959, payments can be made in any currency provided the commodity is imported a license. Currently, the import of every commodity is subject to a restricted license as decreed by the Military Government in 1984. So dairy products have now lost their preferential import position.
32. Import prohibition. The reasons why the importation of some products is prohibited are:
- to build the spirit of self-reliance by producing the good locally;
- to ensure the safety of the Nigerian Public;
- to preserve the local market for domestic products; and
- to save foreign exchange.
33. There were several import prohibition orders like those of 1959 and 1978 (Federal Ministry of Information, 1965; Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1978). But only the import of fresh milk was affected by the prohibition order of 1978. The same order also placed complete prohibition on the export of fresh milk from the country.
34. Import duties. Table 4 shows the extent to which duties were used in the control of dairy imports between 1958 and 1983. Specific duties were imposed on butter, and cheese and curd right from the period of the Second World her - 1939 to 1945. The rate of duty on butter increased from 8.8 kobo per kilogram in 1958 to 50 kobo per kilogram in 1983. The same range of duty also applied to cheese and curd over the same period.
Table 4. Tariffs on Dairy Imports
|
Year |
Butter Kobo/kg |
Cheese and Curd Kobo/kg |
Milk Fresh (not Concentrated or sweetened) Fresh/Sour |
Evaporated Milk |
Milk. Cream and Dry |
|
1958 |
8.80 |
8.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1959 |
18.00 |
8.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1960 |
22.0 |
22.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1961 |
22.00 |
22.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1962 |
22.0 |
22.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1963 |
22.00 |
22.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1964 |
35.00 |
35.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1965 |
35.00 |
35.00 |
40% |
Free |
40 |
|
1966 |
35.00 |
35.00 |
40% |
Free |
40% |
|
1967 |
35.00 |
35.00 |
40% |
Free |
40% |
|
1968 |
33.00 |
35.00 |
40% |
40% |
40% |
|
1969 |
33.00 |
35.00 |
33.3% |
40% |
20% |
|
1970 |
44.00 |
35.00 |
20% |
33.3% |
10% |
|
1971 |
44.00 |
35.00 |
20% |
20% |
10% |
|
1972 |
44.00 |
22.00 |
40% |
10% |
10% |
|
1973 |
44.00 |
33.00 |
40% |
10% |
10% |
|
1974 |
44.00 |
33.00 |
10% |
10% |
10% |
|
1975 |
30.00 |
33.00 |
Free |
5% |
5% |
|
1976 |
30.00 |
33.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1977 |
30.00 |
33.00 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
1978 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
Free |
Free |
|
1979 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
10% |
20% |
|
1980 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
10% |
20% |
|
1981 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
10% |
20% |
|
1982 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
10% |
20% |
|
1983 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
20% |
10% |
20% |
Source: Laws of Nigeria, Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette: Nigerian Trade Journal.
35. Milk, fresh and sour (not concentrated or sweetened), was duty free until 1965 when a 40% ad valorem tax was imposed. The rate of duty varied over the years until the product became duty free once more in 1975. Since 1978 when the import of fresh milk was banned, a duty of 20% had been in force for milk cream and fresh (not concentrated or sweetened) and also for dry and cream milk. Various categories of dairy products, with the exception of butter and cheese, have enjoyed varied periods of exemption from duty. Other than fresh milk, the one with the longest period of exemption from duty was evaporated m ilk.
36. Foreign exchange control. Since 1979, three systems of foreign exchange control of imports have been used. One is the Comprehensive Import Supervision Schemes (CISS). Another is the advance deposit (Central Bank of Nigeria 1979; 1980) while the third is direct foreign exchange allocation for imports.
37. The CISS involved "...a pre-shipment check on the prices, volume and quantity of imported goods worth over N 20,000". This system which was initiated to combat fraud in the import sector affects all commodities and all importers provided the import bill falls within the specified range.
38. The advance deposit scheme required that 50% to 200% of the value of the imports be deposited in advance. It was compulsory for a list of import items including dairy products until it was abolished in 1984 with the inception of specific duties for all visible imports (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1984).
39. The third control measure is direct annual allocation of foreign exchange to the import sector. The allocation for all dairy imports in 1984 was N 200 million (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1984). The fund is revolving in the sense that grants made in foreign exchange are paid back in local currency. The overall allocation is further reallocated among various import items on the basis of national need.
