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NEPC Issues Guidelines for Submission of Baseline Data for 2019 and 2020 Export Ratings

Nigeria Economy	447 VIEWS
Nigeria Economy
447 VIEWS

Friday, October 16, 2020 / 4:24 PM / by KPMG Nigeria / Header Image Credit: NEPC

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) on Wednesday, 14 October 2020 issued Circular No. EDM/EEG/ BASELINERATEs/ 2013/ Vol. 3/ 175, providing guidelines to all registered and interested exporters for submission of baseline data and application claims for Export Expansion Scheme (EEG) in preparation for the official launch of the EEG web portal. The baseline data and application claim will cover exports in 2019 and 2020 and must be submitted in both hard and soft copies from Monday, 19 October 2020 to Friday, 20 November 2020.

Consequently, registered and interested exporters are required to submit the following information/ documents to the NEPC:

1. Completed baseline Forms 1A, 1B, 1C and their annexes (click here to access the forms).

2. Original copies of signed audited Financial Statements (AFS) which must include value-added statements for the respective base years (photocopies must be duly endorsed with the Company's Statutory Auditor's seal, otherwise they will not be accepted).

3. Companies submitting their baseline data for the first time should, in addition to the signed AFS of the base year, submit copies of AFS for the two (2) years preceding the base year, if applicable.

4. Newly incorporated companies are to submit Audited Statement of Affairs, current year management account and projected statements for 2020 and 2021 financial years.

5. Additional notes required for the application (which must conform with the AFS and baseline forms) include:

(i) Analysis of turnover into local and export sales.

(ii) Analysis/ schedule of total export sales (in â‚¦) showing the conversion rates used.

(iii) Details of addition to fixed assets during the year.

(iv) Breakdown/ analysis of cost of sales into local and foreign input (raw materials and packaging)

6. Tax Clearance Certificates and Export Expansion Plan in line with the Revised EEG Scheme.

7. Export Schedule for each year of application.

8. Baseline application and all accompanying documents must be scanned in a single PDF file, saved in a flash drive and forwarded with the application.

The completed application and relevant documents (hard and soft copies) should be forwarded to the Council with a cover letter addressed to the Executive Director/ CEO, NEPC.

Comments

It is very important that all government agencies continue to leverage technology to streamline their processes and improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Therefore, the migration of baseline data submission and claims application by the NEPC to a web-based platform is a step in the right direction. The collection of the baseline data prior to the launch of the portal will serve to validate the information provided by the exporters to ensure data integrity when the portal is eventually deployed and functional. Further, it will provide easy and reliable information on Nigeria export activities that will enable both the government and other relevant stakeholders to make robust fiscal and investment decisions, respectively.

However, the 30-day timeline given by the NEPC for the submission of baseline data and related information may not be sufficient given the specific nature of information and documents required. For instance, some exporters may not have finalised the statutory audit of their 2019 accounts as a result of delay caused by the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. The NEPC may, therefore, consider extending the timeline to ensure that all interested and registered exporters meet the requirements provided in the guidelines.

Nonetheless, exporters who already have the required information/ documents available are encouraged to adhere to the NEPC's submission guidelines to avoid being disqualified.