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By Moses Ebosele –
The Tincan Island command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated N130. 7 Billion within a period of seven months.
Controller of the command, Comptroller Y. U. Bashar, who made the disclosure during an interactive session with strategic stakeholders in his office also explained that the statutory function of the command remain revenue generation and facilitation of legitimate trade.
He noted that the operations, processes and procedures of customs are fully automated and computerized to the extent that trade facilitation could be guaranteed.
However, Bashar in a statement issued by Public Relation Officer, Ejesieme Uche reiterated that trade facilitation can only work when the importers and their agents are transparent in their declarations to Customs.
Reacting to the current increase in the exchange rate for calculating import duty which is generating concern in the Maritime sector, he pointed out that the Nigeria Customs Service as an Agency of the Federal Government is charged with the implementation of Federal Government’s fiscal policies in terms of trade.
He said: “It is instructive to note that the Nigeria Customs Service by its statutory role, does not determine exchange rate, but only rely on the CBN to update us with the information in accordance with its establishing act. It is therefore pertinent to note that the current situation is beyond the Customs”.
The Controller added that the Command’s operational methodology is in sync with the change ideology of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), which encompasses discipline, integrity, transparency and due diligence.
He explained further that there is a paradigm shift in the operational system of the command geared towards strengthening the drive in ensuring that time of cargo delivery is reduced to the barest minimum.
Generally speaking, the Controller highlighted that the Command is under obligation to ensure zero tolerance to corrupt practices in line with global best practices, noting that stakeholders should support the Service in all aspects.
He stated that part of the measures put in place for the actualization of his mandate is the use of a specialized committee- “Dispute Resolution committee.”
According to him, the committee is charged and entrusted with the responsibilities of resolving contentious issues which might arise in areas of classification and valuation with a view to ensuring that such disputes are resolved using the statute books.
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