Customs ability to meet N1trn 2016 revenue target questioned

Few weeks to the end of this year, indications are strong and stakeholders are skeptical that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may not be able to achieve its annual N1trillion revenue target due to a sharp drop in the volume of imported commodities into the country.

According to the stakeholders, the volume of ship bringing cargo into the port have also dropped and the port is operating at its lowest ebb due to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policies that negatively affect importers’ access to foreign exchange including the restriction placed on 41 selected items that were banned from accessing foreign exchange through the official window.

A visit to the two seaports in Lagos, Apapa and Tin-Can Island, shows that cargo throughput at the various terminals has dropped drastically such that there has not been any sign of Christmas, few weeks to the festive period. The Service has so far posted total revenue of N557.1billion generated in the first eight months of the year—January to August 2016.

The statistics shows that Customs recorded N74.3billion in January; N62.8 billion in February; 61.2billion in March; N57.3 billion in April; N57.3 in May; N72.7billion in June; N75.6 billion in July and N95.7billion in August. Ships and Ports reports that the total import duty in cash within the eight months under review stood at N286.7billion while the total Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) in non-cash receipt was N203 billion.

The NCS collected N28 billion from excise duty; N1.1 billion fees and recorded N57.9billion federation account levies. The non-federation accounts levies in the period was N73.3billion with a Value Added Tax (VAT) of N109 billion.

Tony Anakebe, managing director of Gold-Link Investment Limited, who confirmed that port business has remained low in the past 10 months of the year, said that Customs would not be able to meet its target as given by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Anakebe, who said that the level of business at the port does not show any sign of Christmas around the corner, added that many Nigerian importers have resulted to importing through the neigbouring West African Ports, where it is faster and cheaper to bring in cargo.  Wale Adeniyi, Public Relations Officer of Customs attributed the eight months revenue earned by the Service to the rise in revenue to the upward review of foreign exchange for import duty calculation by the Central