Jude Nzennaya, Port Harcourt
The Port Harcourt Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, said it was delighted to announce the collection of ₦106.593, 735,469.91 as revenue for the first half of 2024, even as it promised to break new grounds in revenue collection.
This was contained in a press release made available to the media by the Command’s Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Superintendent of Customs (SC), Oscar Ivara, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
The Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Mustapha Hashim, disclosed that the figure showed a remarkable surplus of ₦57.982, 649,584.24 compared to the first half of 2023, which stood at ₦48,611,085,885.67. The statement added that the figure, represents 119 per cent increase in revenue collection for the months under review.
Further, Comptroller Hashim noted that the revenue collected in each month of the first half exceeded the mandated monthly target, which was averaged at ₦15,351,810,843.46 in the first quarter of the year and ₦19,189,763,554.32 in the second quarter, respectively.
Laying more emphasis on the factors deployed to achieve such a feat, he said, “The efforts put in place by the command to create an enabling environment for trade had played a major role in the astronomical rise in the revenue profile of the command”,
“The revenue collected in the first half of the year all made over 100% variance with the corresponding period of 2023, particularly in May and June, which stood at ₦25,016,776,741.72 and ₦20,541,439,793.02, respectively, thereby changing the revenue landscape when compared to the corresponding period of 2023, which had ₦6,212,770,109.89 and ₦9,549,716,028.678 respectively.”
The CAC varied from the different tax heads, which included Import duties, fees, excise duties, value-added tax (VAT), federation account levies, and non-federation account levies, which are all derived from various bulk cargoes such as Wheat, bitumen, salt and frozen fish, among others.
While promising a conducive business environment at Area 1 Customs Command, Comptroller Hashim says,
“The command is poised to make the environment more conducive to traders,” but was quick to point out that “emphasis would be placed on thorough physical examination of cargoes to forestall smuggling.”
He reiterated that the command is in full compliance with the Federal Government policy of Ease of Doing Business by ensuring that examinations are jointly conducted and clearance processes follow the Time Release Study (TRS) initiated by the World Customs Organization (WCO).
The Controller however, warned that “any attempt to use the command to smuggle illicit drugs or nefarious items such as Arms and Ammunition into the country would be met with severe sanctions.”
On the inter-agency collaboration, Hashim insisted that the command had created synergy with all Government agencies working in the Port, particularly the NDLEA, Police and the Nigeria Immigration Service, to gather information and share intelligence, which will help to strengthen efficiency.
He noted that the command was in high spirits as it would eventually surpass the expected annual revenue target of the command, which was set at ₦230,277,162,651.85.
Also, he thanked the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, for his continued support for the Area Command, as he promised that the Command was confident enough to break grounds in the Area of revenue generation.
