Wednesday, May 18, 2022 / 11:35 AM / by Wole Obayomi / Header Image Credit: The Indian Wire

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC or “the Council”) on Monday, 16 May 2022 issued Circular No. EDM/EEG/ BASELINERATE/ 2013/ V.3/ 169, providing guidelines to all registered and interested exporters for the submission of baseline data online for the processing of 2021 and 2022 financial years export claims under the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme.  The submission of baseline data will be for a six-week period commencing from Monday, 23 May 2022 to Sunday, 3 July 2022.

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

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

• Analysis of turnover into local and export sales.
• Analysis/ schedule of total export sales (in Naira) showing the conversion rates used.
• Details of additions to fixed assets during the year.
• Breakdown/ analysis of cost of sales into local and foreign inputs (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.

Eligible exporters are required to log into the EEG web portal using the login credentials obtained during e-registration and submit the completed baseline application together with the scanned accompanying documents for the NEPC’s review.  Additionally, the NEPC noted that the EEG scheme is currently undergoing a review, the outcome of which may affect companies’ ratings for the period under review.

Commentary

We commend the NEPC for fully automating the process of baseline data submission for export claims following the migration of baseline data submission and claims application to a web-based platform in 2020.  The web-based process is expected to ease the administration of the EEG Scheme and provide access to reliable information on Nigeria’s export activities that will enable both the government and other relevant stakeholders to make robust fiscal and investment decisions, respectively.  It is hoped that the Council has addressed the technical glitches on the web-portal experienced during the pilot phase, including validation of hard copy pieces of information submitted by exporters during the process.

Meanwhile, exporters who already have the required information/documents available should adhere to the NEPC’s submission guidelines to avoid being disqualified.

Credits

* This statement was first published in the Issue 5.2/ May 2022 Newsletter of KPMG of Tuesday May 17, 2022. For further enquiries, please contact the author, Wole Obayomi via [email protected]