Following the harsh economic times which have led to the decline in the level of imports into the country, the Tin Can Island Customs Command revenue has dwindled as it raked in N130billion in 2016 which is a 10% drop when compared to 2015.
The Controller of the Tincan Island Customs Command, Comptroller Y. U. Bashar made this disclosure recently during a chat with some stakeholders in his office.
Within the first seven months in 2015, the Command generated N145.60 billion which is 10.2 percent or N14.84billion more than the current figure; one hundred and thirty billion, seven hundred and sixty-three million, one hundred and eighty-three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-three naira (N130,763,183,793.00).
Comptroller Bashar stated that proactive measures have been put in place by the Controller Tin Can Island Port, towards revitalizing and repositioning the command for effective revenue generation in the last seven months and he maintained that revenue generation and facilitation of legitimate trade remained the statutory function of the command.
Compt. Bashar also reiterated that trade facilitation would only work when the importers and their agents are transparent in their declarations to Customs, noting that the Command had also made deliberate efforts towards ensuring strict adherence to the rules and standards of operation.
He pointed out that the operations, processes and procedures of customs are fully automated and computerized to the extent that trade facilitation could be guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the Controller has also reacted to the current increase in the exchange rate for calculating import duty which is generating concern in the maritime sector.
He pointed out that the Nigeria Customs Service as an Agency of the Federal Government is charged with the implementation of Federal Government’s fiscal policies in terms of trade.
“It is instructive to note that the Nigeria Customs Service by its statutory role, does not determine exchange rate, but only rely on the CBN to update us with the information in accordance with its establishing act. It is therefore pertinent to note that the current situation is beyond the Customs”, he said.
The Controller highlighted that the Command was under obligation to ensure zero tolerance to corrupt practices in line with global best practices as he called on stakeholders to support the Service in all aspects, so that maximum Revenue can be generated in line with the vision and mission of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He stated that part of the measures put in place for the actualization of his mandate is the use of a specialized committee known as “Dispute Resolution committee” and noted that the committee is charged with the responsibilities of resolving contentious issues which might arise in areas of classification and valuation with a view to ensuring that such disputes are resolved using the statute books.
