Ministry, Stallion Group lock horns over N17bn rice duties

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has accused the Stallion Group of Companies of misrepresenting facts to defraud the federal government of N17 billion rice imports duties and levies. In a response to stallion’s comments on rice import duties, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Architect Sonny Echono, said the Group misrepresented facts […]

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has accused the Stallion Group of Companies of misrepresenting facts to defraud the federal government of N17 billion rice imports duties and levies.
In a response to stallion’s comments on rice import duties, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Architect Sonny Echono, said the Group misrepresented facts on its current milling capacity all in an effort to evade over N17 billion duties and levies owed to the federal government.
“Another unfounded claim in the publication by Stallion Group is the installed capacity of 430,000 MT as against 110,000MT actual installed capacity, which is a deliberate attempt to obfuscate the amount of quota-tied to install milling capacity that should accrue to Stallion Group of Companies,” the ministry stated in a rejoinder.
He said the actual production of Nigerian milled rice by Stallion Group is significantly lower stressing that the company’s pre-occupation was with importation of processed rice rather than processing the local paddy rice in the country.
The Permanent Secretary, in the media publication, pointed out that Popular Farms and Masco Agro Allied Industry Limited, both subsidiaries of the Stallion Group have imported a combined volume of 650,439MT of rice equivalent of 13.01 million bags of 50kg each or 21,681.3 truckloads of rice without waiting for ministerial committee on issuance of quotas.
“To put the record straight, the approved quota for 2014 was 89,939 MT for popular farms, while no allocation was given to Masco Agro Allied Industry due to its inability to provide Domestic Rice Production Plan as at November 2014 when the Quota was issued,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary lamented that the importation of such huge quantity of processed rice into the country “is targeted at destroying our fledging local rice milling industry and impoverish Nigerian rice farmers.”
But Stallion Group in a recent press statement denied having evaded any due obligations of import duties as alleged by the Nigerian Customs Service.
According to the company in a press statement, Popular Farms and Mills Limited and Masco Agro Allied Industries Limited, subsidiaries of Stallion Group im¬ported 595,539 & 54,500 metric tonnes of rice respectively, adding that it has paid the N17 billion duties and lies.
 The Group argued that the duties and lies paid was at prevail¬ing rates  approved by Mr. President for millers under the new National Rice Policy contained in Circu¬lar No. BD/FP/TT/50/1/99 of 8th July, 2014.
Stallion Group is however contesting legally that the retro¬spective duties being demanded by the Nigeria Customs Service are not pay¬able, adding that it “will adhere to any final judg¬ment made by the country’s rule of law and due process.”