The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin-Can Island Port Command, has said that the volume of export cargo that left Nigeria through the port to international destinations has increased by 73 percent to 138,246.50 metric tons in the first six months of the year, between January and June.
Giving the Half Year Revenue and Performance Report of the command in Lagos on Friday, Adekunle Oloyede, Customs area controller of the command, said the export cargo had over N100.45 billion in free on board (FOB), representing a 60 percent increase from N66.29 billion recorded on the 100,500 metric tons of export cargo throughput recorded the same period in 2021.
According to him, the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) deserves huge commendation for creating a seamless collaboration that facilitates the clearing process of export-related cargo at the Tin-Can Island Port command.
In the area of revenue collection, the CAC said the command generated over N274.3 billion in revenue in six months between January and June, representing about a 27.50 percent increase from N229.3 billion collected in the same period in 2021.
According to him, the command hopes to surpass its revenue target by end of the 2022 fiscal year.
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On enforcement and anti-smuggling activities of the command, Oloyede said the command made several seizures and detentions.
He listed the seizures to include 145kg of Indian Hemp concealed in two units of Ridgeline trucks and two units of Toyota Corolla vehicles; 206,000 pieces of machetes; 640 bales of used clothes; 236,500 pieces of used shoes; 62,500 pieces of new lady’s shoes; 1,670,400 pieces of chloroquine injections; 1,814,400 pieces of Novalgen injection; 48,850 rolls of cigarettes and 23,800 tins of sodium bromated and baking powder.
Others include 3,303 pieces of motor batteries found in three containers that were falsely declared as three units of used Toyota Hiace buses; four units of used Mack truck heads; one unit of used Toyota Sequoia 2008 model; one 2008 model of used Mercedes Benz GL450 and one unit of used 2011 Toyota 4 Runner.
Oloyede however disclosed that the command had handed over one suspect, one pistol gun, two empty magazines, and 300 rounds of live ammunition to the DSS for further action.
He said the seized and detained items, which had over N1.3 billion duty paid value, also contravened some sections of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CAMA) of 2004.
He added that seizures were enabled by the interventions of the Customs Intelligence Unit, the valuation unit, Customs Strike Force, and other regulatory agencies including SON, and Nigeria Police among others.
On trade facilitation, Oloyede said the command has created a dispute settlement structure that aligns with the provisions of the import duty mechanism, which allows an importer to take delivery of his consignment in the case of persistent dispute after securing a bank bond worth the total duties and taxes payable on the item being disputed.
