The
Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated a revenue
of N130.76 billion in the last seven months of the year.
A
statement by the command on Monday in Lagos said that the Customs Area
Controller, Comptroller Yusuf Bashar, made the disclosure while exchanging
views with some stakeholders in his office.
The News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the revenue of the command nose-dived from
N145.60 billion recorded in the seven months of 2015.
The controller said that the statutory function of the command remained revenue generation and facilitation of legitimate trade.
Bashar said that deliberate and concerted efforts were being made in terms of strict adherence to the rules and standards of operation.
He said
that the operations, processes and procedures of Customs were fully automated
so that trade facilitation could be guaranteed.
The
controller, however, said that trade facilitation could only work when importers
and their agents were transparent in their declarations.
The
controller also reacted to the current hike in the exchange rate for
calculating import duty, which is generating concern in the maritime sector.
He said
that the NCS, as an agency of the Federal Government, was charged with the
implementation of the Federal Government’s fiscal policies.
It is
instructive to note that the Nigeria Customs Service by its statutory role,
does not determine exchange rate but only relies on the Central Bank of Nigeria
to update us with information in accordance with its establishing Act.
It is,
therefore, pertinent to note that the current situation is beyond the
Customs,’’ Bashar said.
The
controller said that the command’s operational methodology was in sync with the
Change ideology of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Retired Col. Hameed Ali,
which encompassed discipline, integrity, transparency and due diligence.
Bashar
further said that, “There is a paradigm shift in the operational system of the
command geared toward strengthening the drive in ensuring that the time of
cargo delivery is reduced to the barest minimum.’’
The
controller expressed his passion for stakeholders’ engagement to strengthen
professionalism, promotion of inter-agency collaboration and synergy to ensure
robust relationship as well as on-the-job capacity building.
He also
mentioned the need to enhance officers’ knowledge, particularly in modern
trends and practices, which would promote trade facilitation and due diligence.
The
controller said the command was obliged to ensure zero tolerance for corrupt
practices in line with global best practices.
He urged
stakeholders to support the service in all aspects so that maximum revenue
could be generated in line with the vision and mission of the service.
Bashar
said that part of the measures put in place for the actualisation of his
mandate “is the assistance of a specialised committee named Dispute Resolution
Committee’’.
The
controller said that the committee was charged and entrusted with the responsibilities
of resolving contentious issues which might arise in areas of classification
and valuation of goods.
He said
that this would ensure that such disputes are resolved using the statute books.
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