The Presidential Enabling
Business Environment Council (PEBEC) through its secretariat has released the
national action plan in its continuous bid to facilitate ease of doing business
in Nigeria.
Business Environment Council (PEBEC) through its secretariat has released the
national action plan in its continuous bid to facilitate ease of doing business
in Nigeria.
The national action plan
is supposed to last for a period of 60 days from the 3rd of
October to 31st of December 2017 and it is to cut across 11
major areas in the economy.
is supposed to last for a period of 60 days from the 3rd of
October to 31st of December 2017 and it is to cut across 11
major areas in the economy.
Also of note with the plan
is that as it affects various sectors, they are specific to different regions
in the country.
is that as it affects various sectors, they are specific to different regions
in the country.
The innovations contained
in the plan are as follows,
in the plan are as follows,
- Incorporation: Incorporation
is expected to be easier with one of the processes removed and about 72
hours removed from the procedure.
- Construction: It
is expected that obtaining construction permits get easier with the time
frame for obtaining governor’s consent set at a maximum of 30 days.
- Property Registration: The
introduction of e-consent by the governor is included with clearly defined
fee schedules made available to public. Also statistical information on
land disputes is to be available online.
- Getting Electricity: There
is to be further reduced time to get connected to the grid by deploying
online systems and a revised procedure for connection and strict adherence
to the timeline
- Access to Credit Facilities: There
is an increase in number of financial institutions on the collateral
registry with about at least 300 microfinance banks joining the National
Collateral Registry and increased usage of credit scoring services by
banks and other financial institutions.
- Tax Remittance: The
plan is expected to simplify the process and reduce the time for paying
taxes with all large and medium size enterprises to be registered on
e-filing system.
- International Trade: The
plan is expected to cover cross border trading by joint examination of
import cargo in Lagos (led by Nigerian Custom Services) and prevent
multiple inspections. Also, there will be strict compliance with 48-hour
scheduling process by pre-shipment inspection agents. Also, export
documentation and import documentation has been reduced to 7 and 8
respectively.
- Enforcement of Contracts: The
plan is to address the time spent in court relating to commercial
transactions.
- Public Procurement: The
plan is to address the process of procurement by government for SMEs.
Also, the Bureau of Public Procurement will ensure compliance of relevant
government agencies to laid down procedures and timelines.
- Immigration: The
plan addresses the experience of travelers entering and leaving Nigeria.
The plan would ensure reduction of time spent at the airports.
Streamlining of the processes for entering the country is also expected to
be worked on with a Single Passenger Clearance system at airports to
reduce average clearance time by 50%. Processing and approval of Temporary
Work Permit (TWP) within 48 hours is also expected. There is also going to
be the introduction of Automated Expatriate Quota (EQ) application process
at the Federal Ministry of Interior to ease entry of expatriates.
- Local Trade: The
plan also encompasses trade practices within the locality. Plans will
include the simplification of the process of registering food and drugs at
NAFDAC, removal of illegal road blocks, clear backlog of outstanding marks
at the trademark registry among other things.