The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) TinCan Island port command has generated N274,320,715,179.22 between January to June this year, according to Comptroller Olakunle Oloyede, the command’s area controller.
Oloyede, who spoke during a media conference in Lagos on Friday, said this was a 27.50 per cent increase from last year’s collection of N-229,321,865,091.16 within the period under review.
“In the area of enforcement and anti-smuggling activities of the command, various seizures and detentions were made.
“These include 145kg of Colorado (Indian hemp) concealed in 2 units of Ridgeline trucks and 2 units of Toyota corolla vehicles, 206,000 pieces of machetes, 640 bales of used clothes, 236,500 pieces of used shoes.
“Others are 62,500 pieces of new lady’s shoes, 1,670,400 pieces of Chloroquine injections (5mg/5ml). 1,814,400 pieces Novalgen injection (500mg/5ml), 48,850 rolls of cigarettes and 23,800 tins of sodium bromate & baking powder.
“In addition to the above other detentions made include 3,303 pieces of motor batteries found in three containers falsely declared as three units of used Toyota Hiace buses, four units of used Mack truck heads.
“Also among are one unit of used Toyota Sequoia 2008 model, one unit of used Mercedes Benz GL450 2008 model and one unit of used 2011 Toyota 4Runner,” he said.
He noted that they handed over one suspect, one arm pistol gun, two empty magazines and 300 rounds of live ammunition to the Department of State Services (DSS)for further action.
He pointed out that the import of the seizures and items detained contravenes Sections 46, 47& 161 of the Customs & Excise Management. Act (CEMA) Cap 45 LFN 2004.
“The Duty Paid Value of the total seizures amounted to N1.301,901,685.12.
“It is important to acknowledge the critical role played by the Customs Intelligence Unit, the Valuation unit, Customs Strike force, FOU as well as interventions by sister regulatory agencies in making these seizures and detentions,” he said.
On import, he noted that the command had recorded an outward throughput in the export cargo of 138,246.50 metric tons representing an increase of 73 per cent from 100,500 metric tons recorded in 2021, with a Free on Board value of N100,447,304,814.00.
“This also represents an increase of 60 per cent from N66,294,630,421 recorded in the fiscal year 2022, we commend Nigeria Ports Authority management for their seamless collaboration in facilitating the clearance process of export-related cargo,” he said.
On the Vehicle Identification Number Valuation service, he said that after the initial challenges faced in implementation, he noted that the VIN valuation had helped the command to achieve an expedited clearance process.
He added that this was due to predictability of value-assessment, increase in revenue generation, improved ease of doing business, generation of accurate statistics for the Federal Government and a host of others.
He said that in the area of trade facilitation, the command would continue to provide a conducive environment for trade through continuous engagement and collaboration with relevant stakeholders and regulatory agencies of Government.
“Additionally, the dispute settlement structure of the command aligns with the provisions of the import duty mechanism outlined in paragraph (H) subparagraph (8) of the Import Guidelines, Procedure and Documentation Requirements.
“This allows an importer to take delivery of his cargo in the case of persistent dispute after securing a bank bond, the total duties and taxes payable on the item being disputed,” he said.
He said that he was optimistic that with the e-Customs agenda of the Service, and the recent deployment of non-intrusive technology such as scanners, they would be able to achieve more in its core responsibilities.
