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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Customs gives condition for release of MTN recharge cardsTHE Nigeria Customs Service has agreed to release consignments worth N6 billion belonging to MTN, one of the GSM service providers, if it pays the necessary import duty. Briefing newsmen at the end of a meeting with officials of the Department in Abuja, the Senate Committee Chairman on Commerce, Ibikunle Amosu, said Customs had agreed to release the consignments without documentation. Management of MTN, however, did not attend a meeting called by the committee to address the issue of scarcity and high cost of the organisation�s recharge cards. Amosu said the committee had decided to wade into the issue in the interest of Nigerians. The Comptroller, Import and Export Services of Customs, Mr Julius Nwagwu, who represented the organisation at the meeting of the committee, said MTN had abused the privilege given to it by Customs. �MTN has been enjoying pre-release concession but the privilege has been abused as it had always failed to pay duty on the consignments when due�. He said he had received information that the organisation had on Wednesday defrayed its debt but was yet to pay the duty on its current consignment in Customs warehouse. �Upon payment, we will release the goods without documentation. The documentation can be done later. �If they pay us this evening, we will order the release of the goods immediately�. The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Ernest Ndukwe, said the commission had been investigating the scarcity of MTN cards. �NCC is not pampering MTN to the detriment of Nigerians by not sanctioning the organisation, but we have to get to the root of the matter first�. About three million recharge cards are in Customs� warehouse.
Monday, July 19, 2004 |
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