TheCable

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it may not be able to meet its N3.019 target for 2022 due to its inability to collect tariffs on telecommunications and carbonated drinks. 

Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), made this known on Thursday at a briefing at the presidential villa in Abuja. 

While the federal government suspended the 5 percent excise duty on telecoms services in Nigeria, the FG said implementation of excise duty of N10/litre on all non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sweetened beverages have started. 

Ali said the protracted controversies around the agency to collect the telecommunication tariff would affect the target.

He said NCS had so far collected and remitted the sum of N2.143 trillion into the government’s coffers.

He said the projection of the N3.019 target was set based on the assumption that the service would start the collection from the beginning of the year.

“We were given a target of N3.019 trillion for the year 2022 and we have so far collected N2.143 trillion so, we are working towards making sure that we get to the target. The collection of telecommunication and carbonated drinks tax is part of the target given to us but up till now we have not started collecting that, which we will do,” he said. 

“But we are working very assiduously to make sure that we block all leakages and by the end of December, we will report to Nigerians that we have met our over three trillion naira target.” 

Responding to inquiry on what he had been able to do to rid the service of corrupt officials, Ali said over 2,000 officers have been dismissed for one form of misconduct and complicity or the other since he assumed office as comptroller-general. 

On seized goods, he said the NCS gives food items to displaced persons and the needy, based on the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 He said they distribute the food items in conjunction with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC).

“So, all perishable goods seized by the Customs are now given to the needy. Primarily we were giving them to the displaced persons because before the advent of the flood and banditry the displaced persons were the most pronounced people in need but now the President has mandated the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure that all perishable items are given to these people to alleviate their suffering,” he said.

Ali also said the delay in the collection of carbonated drinks’ tax may also pose another challenge.

He said the service only recently commenced the collection of the tax which he noted was also part of the assumption at the time the 2022 target was set.

The customs boss also assured Nigerians that the nation’s borders would soon be fully protected.

According to him, the organisation is already conducting an intensive patrol around the borders, in collaboration with security agencies to realise the goal.

“We have agreed on the constitution of what we call the Joint Border Patrol Team. Today we have a conglomeration of the Army, Airforce and all other security agencies that have together under one roof to ensure the security of our borders, the team comprises both the military and paramilitary, with Customs as the leading agency because we are the gatekeepers in this operation,” he said. 

“We have about four sectors from Cross River State up to Yobe. We are not covering between Borno and parts of the Adamawa States because of the ongoing military operation there. Therefore, the military has asked us to keep off those areas because they are handling that and until the areas are secured, we will not be able to go there.”

Ali added that technology will also be deployed to further secure the borders. 

“Secondly, we are trying to increase our arsenal by increasing our capacity to be able to fight smuggling and ensure we monitor our borders. The modernisation process that we are putting in place, otherwise called e-Custom, has an inbuilt system for border monitoring which will be linked to ICT systems and cloud information,” he said. 

“We are working with the Airforce to make sure that we monitor our borders and ensure effective control. We intend to have more aircraft as well as talk with the Army to train our officers to learn to para drop so that they will be able to intercept the actions of smugglers.

Ali said Nigeria is working closely with her neighbours to fortify the borders.

“We are making sure that we work closely with our neighbour as that is the best way of solving this problem. If we have a good understanding with our neighbouring countries and we work based on the ECOWAS protocol, all these things will stop,” he said. 

“Between us and Nigeria Republic, we have almost a perfect system in place and if there is a problem, it is only minimal cases of smuggling; where we problem is on our borders with the Benin Republic but we are working with them to see if we can create a synergy to be able to protect ourselves and protect each other.” 

He also said the process to fully automate the activities of the service, leading to the electronic processing of goods and taxes, is ongoing.

Furthermore, he said the service would realise at least $17.6 billion after the conclusion of the automation of its operations in a few years.

The comptroller-general said when all activities of the customs are fully automated, it will enhance revenue generation and prevent the import of illicit goods into Nigeria. He added that it will also monitor the country’s borders.