In six months, customs generates N1.2 trillion – Details emerged

Adeleye Kunle Reports

According to the Nigeria Customs Service, it generated N1, 292, 904, 201, 376.89 between January and June 2022 and deposited the money in the Federation Account, TrackNews reports.

The amount surpassed the previous year’s total by N289, 364, 116, 786.73, or 28.83 percent, according to the Service.

It was noted that this was remarkable given that only 116, 691 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAARs) were issued in comparison to 129, 667 in the same period in 2021.

It claimed to have collected N156,315,758,646.18 on behalf of other Federal Government agencies and deposited the funds in the federation account.

According to the Service, the revenue target for 2022 is N3.019 trillion, which exceeds the target for 2021 by 80.78 percent.

Timi Bomodi, Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, disclosed this during a briefing to present the Service’s half-year report, which covered January to June 2022.

“Between January and June 2022, we were able to generate N1, 292,904,201,376.89 into the federation account, as opposed to N1,003,540,084,590.16 for the same period in 2021,” he said.

“The amount raised exceeded our previous year’s total by N289,364,116,786.73, or 28.83%.”

“This is even more remarkable given that only 116,691 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAARs) were issued in 2021, compared to 129,667 processed in the same period.”

“A total of N156,315,758,646.18 was collected on behalf of other Government Agencies and deposited into the non-federation account.”

Bomodi, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, stated that the Service collected N68,015,808,146.61 in excise duty through its 22 Commands in the last six months.

According to Bomodi, various goods totaling N39,174,678,983.00 in Duty Paid Value (DPV) were seized due to regulatory and policy violations.

“The top seven items seized are narcotics and other illicit drugs worth N8,768,311,517.00, foreign parboiled rice worth N8,251,353,292.00, and illegal imports of dangerous pharmaceuticals worth N7,630,764,524.00.”

“Other items have a DPV of N4,051,244,924.00 for used clothing, N3,698,181,138.00 for petroleum products, N2,561,361,989.00 for textiles and made up fabrics, and N1,853,084,115.00 for motor vehicles.”

“The current year’s DPV value exceeds that of 2021 seizures by a whopping N34,752,130,003.00,” he said.

Bomodi also stated that the Service’s Anti-Money Laundering Unit (AML) seized $339,800 USD, £12,000 POUNDS, 3,013,500 RYD, 20,000 CFA, and 133 ATM cards.

“Seven people were arrested for violating the Anti-Money Laundering Act and were turned over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution,” he said.

The Customs spokesman stated that the Service was able to plug revenue leakages in order to meet its target.