The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that it collected about One Hundred and Sixty-Seven Billion, One Hundred and Eight Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-Two thousand and Forty-Three Naira (N167, 108, 472. 43) between January and July 2015.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Eporwei Charles Edike who made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the conference room of the Command at Apapa stated that the amount was against the One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Billion, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Seven Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-Four thousand and Thirteen Naira (N159, 877, 474. 13) collected within the same period in the year 2014.
Giving a comparative analysis of vessels that called at the command with the period under review, Edike said that about 43 vessels called at the command in January 2014 as against 41 that called in the corresponding period in 2015. For February 2014, 45 vessels called while 41 vessels called in the same period in 2015 whereas 42 vessels called in the month of March 2014 as against 36 vessels that called in the month of March 2015.
According to him,” For import charge N19, 412 for January 2014 and N17, 929 for 2015. For February 2014, N19, 044 and N15, 623 for February 2015. For March 2014, N19, 452 and N14, 935 for March 2015.
“Then, the yard occupancy, that is how much of the yard that APMT is engaged. January 2014, 70% occupied, 2015-63% occupied. For February 2014-67% occupied, for 2015- 51% occupied. For March 2014- 73% occupied, for 2015- only 50% was occupied. For April 2014, vessel call is 41, 2015 is 31. May 2014, 41 against 36, June 2014, 40 while June 2015 43.“Yard occupancy 87% against 46%, 80% against 43% and 80% against 39% for June. And for July, 47 against 39, yard occupancy 43% against 42%”.
The Customs boss however stated that inspite of the decline in importation, the revenue for 2015 was more than that of last year adding that the reasons were not far-fetched even as he disclosed that the command collaborated with APMT so as to arrive at the reasons for the decline in imports since they deal directly with the importers.
“And from their observations and all of it, they gave the reasons as the rising inflation as a result of devaluation of the Naira. The next reason given is the lower oil price including the economic slowdown and the third reason is of course the Central Bank’s policy restricting Forex to 41 import commodities.
“And of course, these and other reasons are responsible for the low import and of course, we also cannot remove the position of our roads, the access roads to the ports. Before now, between here and Creek road is a no-go-area and recently, the Apapa gate is also bad now and then also to the Nigerian Airways junction, Flour mills, we all know what it was until recently when the Army, Police, Navy, Road Safety and LASTMA are on the roads to make it bearable for us.
“So, these are the reasons adduced for the low import and certainly, we are hoping that in no time when this tide is changed, there will be more import and revenue will also rise”, he said.
On the anti-smuggling activities of the command, Edike noted that the command made 159 detentions in the period under review saying that out of the 159 detentions, 6 containers were seized while the remaining 153, were either mostly made to pay duty or to pay their DN as well as the penalty prescribed in the customs law and were allowed to go after they had paid their DN.
He further said,” we also want to brief you on what we have done so far on export. We are collaborating with all stakeholders, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NESREA and recently NAFDAC . we expect that in the next few weeks, NAFDAC in collaboration with us will hold a stakeholders’ meeting in this place for exporters.
“And so, Export Promotion Council, NESREA, NAFDAC, we are relating with them. For the period under review, goods exported from here are valued at $502, 810,733.79 equivalent of N220.3 Billion worth of goods were exported out of Apapa Ports”.
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