PTML Customs Rakes In N234B, Exceeds Nov ‘22 Figure By 9.8%

BY FUNMI ALUKO

The Nigeria Customs Service, Port Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command says it collected a total N234,340,789,594 in revenue receipt as at November 30,2023, as the leadership of the command enumerates key essentials that will drive cargo quick time release.

Comptroller Saidu Abba Yusuf, Customs Area Controller(CAC) of the Command, who disclosed this shortly after a reception ceremony for ‘MV Great Lagos, a Grimaldi owned Roll on Roll off(RoRo) vessel, expressed optimism in meeting the 2023 total revenue target of the command.

According to the Command Public Relations Officer, CSC Muhammad Yakubu, the figure is over and above collection of N213,405,461,873  for November 2022 by N20,935,327,721, representing a 9.8 percent increase.

The CAC said PTML officers are fully deployed to work optimally in line with the assurances they gave to the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, when he visited the command two months ago.

He restated that compliance and transparency are keys to faster cargo clearance at all times as customs officers are fully mobilised to conduct joint examination from 9am to 4pm with sister government agencies to avoid the delays associated with separate examinations by the individual agencies.

According to him, the command is a model in many areas including a record breaking 3hour RoRo cargo clearance time under a hundred percent compliance atmosphere. This is even as he added that the time release feat is sustainable and has contributed to the achievement of adequate terminal space devoid of congestion in PTML.

The Controller added that the visit of ‘MV Great Lagos’ ,a ship with space to carry 2500 vehicles and 2000 containers , 2500 general cargo and equipments, shows the capacity of the command to receive and process increased number of imported cargoes

While congratulating the Grimaldi Group for the fear, Comptroller Yusuf advised all port users and stakeholders to be compliant at all times as a way to enjoy the lawful benefits of trade facilitation and ease of doing business.

He said “Since my arrival, I have been saying a lot of things about the advantages of being compliant. Once you are compliant, you won’t experience any delay in cargo clearance. When you declare exactly what you have, and when you pay exactly what you are supposed to pay as your duties we won’t delay you.

“The fastest we have done so far in terms of time release is about 3 hours. When a consignee or a declarant declares exactly what he has, examination is quickly conducted and release is quickly done. Within 3 hours, your cargoes are out. We don’t have any cause to hold on to any cargo as long as the compliance level is 100 percent.

“The most important thing, as I always say, is compliance and transparency. When you talk about the harmonization of process, standardization of process, simplification of process, all these entails that there must be transparency. Once there is transparency, it makes our job very easy and the issue of interventions, infractions will be limited and the time release will be so fast.

“The moment the time release is fast, it attracts more businesses in line with World Customs Organisation tenets which all customs administration are trying to key into”, he said.