The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated a whopping N522.4 billion in the first half of 2022, Malanta Yusuf, Comptroller Apapa Area Command said on Friday.
The Command also recorded a boom in the exportation of non-oil commodities with about 2.5 million metric tonnes, above the 540 metric tonnes in 2021.
The NCS is an independent customs service under the supervisory oversight of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance, responsible for the collection of customs revenue, facilitation of both national and international trade, and anti-smuggling activities.
Yusu said at a press conference in Lagos that figures show a significant increase of N156 billion or 42.54 percent when compared to the N366.5 billion collected in the corresponding period of 2021.
“This feat was made possible because of our officers’ resilience in ensuring identified revenue leakages have been mitigated while sustaining the level of compliance by the importers/stakeholders in the clearance value chain,” he said.
In the area of anti-smuggling, it intercepted dangerous items, resulting in the seizure of 83 containers with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N8.3 billion for the period under review.
He said, “the Command has consistently strived in its core mandates of revenue generation, prevention, and suppression of smuggling, trade facilitation, implementation of government fiscal policies as well as collaboration and cooperation with other government agencies to ensure ease of doing business in the port.
Exports
According to the Comptroller, export, the NCS recorded a boom in the exportation of non-oil commodities with about 2.5 million metric tonnes, above the 540 metric tonnes in the year 2021.
He noted that the Free on Board (FOB) value for the exported items also rose from $1.6 million in the year 2021 to $138 million in 2022.
“Items exported include steel bars, agricultural and mineral products amongst others The federal government policy and export incentive schemes have played vital roles in boosting export trade in Nigeria,” he said.
He said that for the period under review, the command curbed the smuggling of dangerous items, resulting in the seizure of 83 containers with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N8.3 billion.
“Some of the seized items include processed/unprocessed wood, 32 containers; five containers of unregistered pharmaceuticals, 18 containers of used clothing/shoes; 13 containers of foreign parboiled rice.
“Others are vegetable oil – seven containers, tomato Paste – three containers, and 1x20ft container laden with 150 cartons of tramadol,” he said.
