Customs: Hits N1 Trillion Revenue In 10 Months

Bayo Bernard

The Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, appear ready to break the N1.3 billion revenue it generated last year for the federal government barely two months into the new year.

There were initial fears that the Hameed Ali led NCS may fail to hit the revenue target set for it by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration due to lull in importation.

Economic depression experienced during the first two years of the administration has affected all revenue generating agencies, including the customs.

Revenue from its two major formations, Apapa and Tin can has been grossly affected, though the government claims the economy is gradually picking up as a result of positive economic incentives applied by the federal government.

Perhaps. The figures released recently by the revenue generating paramilitary body seem to point in that direction.

The NCS has disclosed that it generated N998.4 billion as revenue between January and October 2018.

According to the document made available to the magazine by NCS, revenue from import duty, excise duty, and Value Added Tax (VAT), among other fee has increased in the last few months.

The breakdown of the revenue figure indicates that the NCS generated N96.6 billion in January, N79.26 billion in February, N87.58 billion in March and N94.3 billion in April In May it recorded N100.5 billion, N98.4 billion in June.

It also generated N94.9 billion in July and N139.9 billion in August, the highest which represented the highest monthly collection so far. N99.5 billion was generated in September while N106.8 was recorded in October.

Meanwhile, industry watchers insist that they were not surprised considering claim by the NCS that serious efforts have been made to plug all revenue leakages since Ali was appointed Comptroller General of Customs almost three years ago.