Customs revenue hits all time high of N4.5trn, even as Nigerian businesses groan

 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said its revenue grew by ₦1.9trn in the past year, and that it has started working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to achieve a stable exchange rate for imports.

A breakdown of its revenue in the period under review showed that it generated ₦4.49 trillion in revenue in the last year, from the ₦2.58trn recorded two years ago. This shows revenue growth of N1.9trn in the previous year.

The Comptroller-General (C-G) of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday to mark his one year in office.

He spoke against the backdrop of huge distortions in business planning caused by frequent changes in exchange rates over the past few months.

He stated: “The NCS reported a remarkable 74% growth in revenue collection over the past year, recording a total revenue collection of  ₦4.49 trillion between June 2023 and May 2024, compared to the ₦2.58 trillion collected during the corresponding period of the previous year.

“This achievement was underpinned by a sustained increase of 70.13% in average monthly revenue collection compared to the previous year. NCS recorded an average monthly revenue collection of ₦343 billion, compared to the ₦202 billion monthly average.

“Notably, there was a substantial 122.35% rise in revenue collection during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year”.

The gains, Adeniyi said, were attributable to the ₦15 billion recovery by the Revenue Review Performance Recovery exercise; ₦2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularisation of the documents of uncustomed vehicles; ₦1.5 billion recovered from the decongestion of 1,705 overtime containers and 981 vehicles from the port.

He added, “It is also worthy to note that on June 13, 2024, NCS recorded a daily All-Time-High of ₦58.5 billion in revenue collection.”

The deployment of officers to sensitive posts based on merit and capacity, the CG also said, was key to the performance recorded within the period under review.

On the trade facilitation mandate of the NCS, Adeniyi said that the decongestion of ports and the re-opening of previously inaccessible access roads have played key roles.

The NCS chief said, “Particularly noteworthy is the NCS’s recent ranking under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which aims to streamline business operations in Nigeria through reforms and policies.

“Ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are ranked by activities under eight broad indicator levels, including efficiency reforms based on service delivery within stipulated timelines, transparency reforms, the review and update of Service Level Agreements, and support for manufacturing and agriculture export.

“Between 2020 and 2022, the NCS maintained an average percentage score of 18.45%, ranking 28th out of the 37 MDAs ranked. By 2023, the NCS ranking fell further to 34th out of 39 MDAs, with a percentage score of 18.53%.

“However, by 2024, I am delighted to announce that the NCS moved up 33 places, now tied at the top with 4 other MDAs out of the 36 MDAs assessed, with a percentage score of 100%, marking a 81.5% increase. This remarkable improvement is directly attributed to the trade facilitation measures implemented within the past year.”

The NCS boss added that the designation of a dedicated terminal for exports has yielded significant gains, facilitating the processing of export goods through the Lilypond Command.

“Initially handling 317 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) in transactions, the terminal now manages 7,464 SGDs, accounting for 19.49% of the total 38,294 export transactions recorded in 2023. By the first quarter of 2024, the Service has processed a total of 10,786 transactions, with 3,162 (29.32%) of these processed through the dedicated export terminal,” he said.

He said the NCS’s anti-smuggling efforts in the past year resulted in significant interceptions, high-value seizures, and numerous arrests, including 63 seizures related to animal and wildlife products valued at ₦566 million”.