The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Command, generated N594.1 million as revenue in January. The Area Controller, Victor Dimka, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Seme on Monday.
Dimka also said that the ban placed on the importation of used and new vehicles through the land border did not affect its revenue generation. He said that the command made 43 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N92.3 million.
“The source of the revenue generated is mainly from imported general goods and Baggage Assessment, using the Passengers Baggage Entry System (PBES) platform. The ban on the importation of fairly used and new vehicles through the land border has not affected our revenue generation.
“The command still collects the revenue it is supposed to collect through the border from the sea port without leakages. Every officer of the command is ensuring that the success of the policy is hinged on intelligence report driven with a robust relationship between the border command and the host communities. We assure the public that the command will continue to perform its statutory functions of revenue generation and the facilitation of legitimate trade.
“It will also continue to combat smuggling activities across the frontier and securing the nation’s territorial integrity,” he said.
Dimka, however, said that the command lacked adequate facilities, saying this had led to its operational setbacks.
“We do not have adequate warehouse to store goods, baggage hall, examination bay, functional scanner, amongst others. This has led to operational setbacks, hence, making the border command ill-equipped to operate in line with the global best practices as obtained in other developed countries.
“However, we make the best use of the tools on ground to discharge our duties efficiently,” he said.
He urged the public to desist from all forms of smuggling noting that culprits caught would be made to face the wrath of the law.
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