Tin-Can Customs Record 16.33% Revenue Increase ‘22

… Impounds 20 Guns, Ammunition, Colarado

BY FUNMI ALUKO

The Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it generated over N574billion revenue last year, 2022 outperforming the figure of the previous year 2021 by 16.33%.

Comptroller Adekunle Oloyede, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) who disclosed above yesterday at a press conference added that with continuous stakeholder engagements and collaboration with sister government agencies,  the Command recorded seizures of offending nomenclature such as through improper declarations as well as uncustoms goods with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N41,846,372,083.50.

According to the Tin Can Customs boss, the seizures is over and above the 27 recorded in 2021 with a Debit Note (DN) of N607.267 million, by 11 seizures amounting to N1.239 billion.

In anti-smuggling activities, the Command recorded a total of thirty eight (38) seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.846 billion. Top on the seized items are 763pkgs of Colarado (Cannabis Sativa) weighing 345.1kg with a street market value of N714,600,000 as given by the NDLEA, 5 x 40 Containers of used Motor Tyre (5050 pistes), 1,150 Bales of second hand clothing, 1,190 Cartons of 20per Cartons of Possuem Bromate and Baking Powder, 11,392 Cartons of 1200 per Carton Armcol Injection Chiproquine Phosphate 322.5mg/5ml (IV and IM), 206,000 pieces of finished machetes, and 1383 cartons of 50 rolls per carton of cigarettes.

Other seizures were; 650 cartons of 50 pieces per carton of new ladies shoes, 2.666 pieces in 36 pallets of new Starter Ex-Premium Inverter Battery, 1980 cartons of Assorted Non-Alcoholic Beverages and 1048 Cartons of Tilde Basmatic Rice, others include 2594 pieces of Ammunition and 20 pieces of Arms comprising of 1 Pistol with 611090 (S/W) model JCP 40mm, 1 Used Co2 Air Pistol with accessories cal 117(4.5m)BM, 1 Marksman repeater pistol, & Mace pepper gun and 10 suspected arms of various types.
“The Command significant increase in the FOB of export in the period under review to the tune of $589,696,648 (N242, 365,322,333.00) as against the $496,075,796 (N141, 985,109,159.00) recorded in the year 2021. This represents an improvement on the FOB by 34.4% and this increase is attributed to the high quality and value of the exported commodities

In export, the Command however recorded a decrease in tonnage of export from 1,723,986.8 in 2021 t0 336,179.5 in 2022, which the CAC said is not unconnected to current government fiscal policy which prohibited the export of wood and wood products, as well as the global unrests with its concomitant economic challenges.

He said, “The Command collected N574,290,210,599.38 between January to December, 2022. This figure when compared to the N493,682,369,264.35 collected in 2021 indicated an increase of N80,607,841,335.03.

“The commodities exported through the command include cocoa bean, insecticides, dried ginger, empty bottles, soya beans, cashew nuts, cigarettes, rubbers, cocoa butter, frozen shrimps, copper ingots, aluminum ingots, sesame seeds and other manufactured items.”

While noting that Cocoa Beans was the highest exported commodity with Legend Stout as the least, Oloyede said the future of export in the command looks brighter in line with the Headquarter Circular on export Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which released a Port Order on the Command’s harmonized SOP for the seamless facilitation of export trade in strict compliance with the extant laws and guidelines.

The CAC however clarified that he does not interfere with export consignments in view of the establishment of a dedicated export channel, created to enhance export trade facilitation.  He explained that the situation is now different, unlike when he newly assumed the leadership of the command and had ordered 37 containers of export to be brought back for checks, in line with reports that thorough checks may not have been carried out.

He lamented however that only seven of the affected containers were brought back, hinting that the customs service is still looking at the matter.

“There was a ban on wood and wood products, especially charcoal, we checked our system last year and we saw that the volume of wood and wood products was very high, this was why the tonnage dropped because we blocked the movement of wood and wood products out of Nigeria.

“When I resumed here, I ordered that about 37 containers of wood should be brought back, it was already out of the country, but I instructed that it should be brought back, we are still on it, and about seven of them have been brought back to the shore, I have the power to do that, all I need to do is talk to the customs administration of the receiving country, and they would never allow that vessel to berth”, he said

Comptroller Oloyede who expressed delight at the impressive all-round high scorecard, despite the harsh economic operating atmosphere attributed the performance to constant remodeling of existing measures geared towards sustaining the Command’s revenue profile as well as utilization of some disruptive strategic measures.

He explained that some of the strategic measures introduced in 2022 includes periodic capacity building, reshuffling and redeployment of officers using the SWOT analysis, implementation of the VIN Valuation, Automation of the 546 procedure, re-introduction of the NIIT after deployment of a Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology Equipment to the Command, Proper Profiling, System Audit, Proper recheck or Examination and detailed but clearly inputted Inspection Acts, among others.

Speaking on VIN Valuation challenges and activities of hawkers to disrupt the command’s activities, Oloyede disclosed that his signature has been forged in attempt to fly out imported vehicles.

“At the initial stage when we introduced the 846, there was a lot of problems here and we had to suspend it in order to rejig the procedure and reintroduce it. However, people still went ahead and forged my signature, there were arrests.

“Because it was a new introduction and process, we decided in our own magnanimity as a command to look into it and give another chance. We asked agents to write their application back to us and we would make sure that the correct duty is collected with a penalty, which is 25% of the duty you are supposed to pay.

“We found out that the owners of the vehicles are not the real perpetrators of these crimes, if we decide to use the big harmer, we might just be punishing the common man that invested his money to import. We went back to our drawing board to make sure we automate the process to remove human error, so we automated the 846.

“In the room while I was doing the sensitization, they dared me and told me that I should give them one week and that they would circumvent the system, and they did. But, right now, I have them in enforcement, because whether you like it or not, you can only succeed for a period of time.

“They never knew what I did to protect that application, lo and behold, they are crying now, I have received calls from everywhere (to release those seized) and I said no. Those doing the hacking are telling us now that there is another way to break into the system, I have told them to go and try.”