Customs soars N68b above N1.5tr revenue in 2020
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
An unprecedented N2.24 trillion revenue was generated in full year 2021 (FY 2021) by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), riding on N1 trillion made between January and June (H1 2021) that was only N500 billion short of entire 2020 intake.
“Nigeria Customs Service generated the sum of N2,240,880,308,195.77 for the year 2021.
“Amount generated is over the target of N1,678,715,016,014.00 set for the year. It is over the sum of N1,562,115,419,216.32 generated in 2020 representing 43.45 per cent increase,” NCS Public Relations Officer Joseph Attah, disclosed in Abuja.
NCS Comptroller General Hameed Ibrahim Ali attributed the feat to the resolute pursuit of what is right and willingness to adapt to change.
Attah said revenue generation continues to grow yearly with ongoing reforms in the NCS. He listed factors instrumental to the achievement to include
- Enforcement of guidelines by the tariff and trade department
- Automated process which eliminates vices in manual process
- Stakeholder sensitisation resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance
- Increased disposition of officers to put national interest above self
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Items worth N13.79b seized
Attah disclosed that efforts to prevent entry of items that could compromise national security led to seizures of 5,096 assorted items with a duty paid value of N13,796,646,685.60.
He said 160 suspects are at different stages of investigation or prosecution, according to The Nation.
He listed other landmark achievements in 2021 in boosting national security and the economy to include:
- “The installation of three brand new scanners in Apapa, Tin-Can Island and Onne Ports;
- “Introduction of mobile tracker: a mobile application that enables individuals to remotely validate any declaration/payment and most importantly the status of any vehicle/cargo at any point. It can be installed on mobile devices;
- “Introduction of Standard Operating Procedure for the use of scanners;
- “Acquisition of rugged, gun trucks to secure anti-smuggling operatives in an increasingly hostile environment;
- “E-customs take-off process now at the stage of the final signing of the agreement.”
