The Tincan Island command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that it has recorded an appreciable improvement in the volume of goods exported from the command between the months of January and March, 2018 to the tune of 558.46% when compared with the same period in the preceding year of 2017.
The command also recorded an appreciable improvement in terms of the Free on Board (FOB) value of the goods exported from the command within the same period in 2018 to the tune of 402.24% when compared with the corresponding period in 2017.
The Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Musa Baba Abdullahi who reeled out the figure in a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday noted that the federal government initiatives on export especially the agricultural commodities were yielding result.
Musa observed that agricultural product export from the command stood at 38, 517 metric tonnes with the FOB value of N22. 435 billion while processed and manufactured goods export also from the command stood at 6, 945 metric tonnes with FOB value of N6.711 billion.
He posited that the total export for the period under review stood at 45, 462 metric tonnes with FOB value of N29.146 billion as against the total export of 8, 140 metric tonnes with FOB value of N7.246 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2017.
The CAC listed the agricultural products exported through the command to include cashew nuts, rubber, Hibiscus flower, Cocoa butter, sesame seeds, processed wood, frozen shrimps and processed leather while the manufactured products exported from the command according to him included empty bottles, biscuits, cigarettes, polyethylene, billets, soaps, hair cream and tissue papers.
He added that the revenue collection for the period January to April, 2018 amounted to the sum of N104.5 billion as against projected collection of the sum of N116 billion translating to a performance rate of 90.09%
In his words, “A comparative analysis against collection of previous year (2017) for the same period in the sum of N82.154 billion, there is an improvement in the figure of about N22.68 billon which is equivalent to an improvement of about 27.61%. The improved collection so far has been driven by the establishment of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and strong revenue drive achieved through blocking of areas of revenue leakages”.
Comptroller Musa further hinted that during the period under review, 1×40 and 1×20 containers of Tramadol Hydrochloride (225mg) which were declared as electrical static converters and ciprofloxacin were seized adding that the command was collaborating with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on the seizure.
He continued,”3×40 containers of E Waste which are considered toxic to the environment/health were seized. We are collaborating with NESREA on this seizure. 5×40 containers of second hand clothing consisting of about 1,239 bales of clothing prohibited under the absolute import prohibition list. 1×40 containers of used tyres as contained in Import Prohibition List for trade. All the seized items have a total duty paid value of N124 million”.
The customs chief added that effort had been intensified under the federal government presidential initiative on ease of doing business to improve the command’s performance rating even as he said that the command had made some gains in the 48 hours cargo clearance time.
“Some categories of goods are being cleared from customs zone within six hours”, he said.
On NICIS II implementation, Musa pointed out that the command was committed to the transformation of the its revenue collection and reporting system with the implementation of NICIS II with additional functionality which was an upgrade of the NICIS I.
According to him, “As part of the specific gains with the implementation, we have the biometric access system and introduction of a one stop shop which will enable treatment of declarations with valuations, classification and other related clearance issues/querries. In the meantime, the renovation of the space for the one stop shop is in progress.
“Automation of the cargo examination and assignment process where examination officers are assigned examination automatically, this is designed to ensure transparency in the inspection process. The vehicle Valuation system is being further improved with the attachment of the Valuation Note issued to the SGD in the system, this will enable a quick verification of assessment and duty payment. Ultimately, the full automation of the Vehicles Valuation will soon be achieved”.
Send your news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @reportersinfo and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.
