Following the full implementation of the ban on vehicle importation through the border, revenue from Seme border is expected to dip to N600 million from its N1 billion target this month.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Seme Command, Mr. Victor Dimka, said that over 50 per cent of the command’s revenue comes from vehicle importation in Seme Command. That, he said, is going to be completely removed.
In an interview, Dimka regretted that the only source of revenue left is the revenue from general goods which, he said, contributes little to the Customs’ coffers.
“Well, now the vehicles will no longer come through the borders. We don’t have rice. All we are going to have is importation of general goods, and that means we have less work to do; more in terms of enforcement, less in terms of revenue.
“You will agree with me that over 50 per cent of our revenue comes from vehicle importation in this Command. So, that is going to be completely removed and what is left is what we should expect,” he lamented.
As part of efforts to generate revenue, he said he was going to make the business relations between Nigeria and other countries at the corridor more friendly.
“You will also agree with me that the trade between Nigeria and the countries of the corridors are more or less informal. We will try to perfect on this relationship so as to make the place more business-friendly; we will have flyers all over the place; we have a help desk as you can see. Our officers will tell people what must be done and what must not be done,” he said.
Earlier, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme chapter, had decried the Federal Government’s ban of used and new vehicles’ importation through the borders, saying that it would ignite crisis of revenue drop, send over 500,000 graduates into the labour market and trigger a series of insurgency.
Also, it said the ban would engender revenue leakage and massive smuggling along the border communities.
In a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and read to newsmen in Lagos, Chairman of the licensed Customs agents, Bisiriyu Lasis Fanu, said that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates
70 per cent of its monthly revenue through vehicle importation, saying that Seme Border Command can generate enough revenue to pay some of the nation’s debts.
Fanu wondered why the Federal Government would ban importation of vehicles through the border whose revenue generation could defray the N30 billion loan it is seeking to finance the 2017 budget.
Recall that Seme Command of the NCS generated N1.25 billion revenue for November 2016. The Command also made 99 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about N82.88 million for the month.
According to Seme Command’s Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Mr. Taupyen Selechang, the revenue generated exceeded the monthly revenue target of the Command with N59,131,069.14.
“The upsurge in the revenue figure of the last quarter justifies the command’s open door policy and its commitment to excel in revenue generation viz-a-viz anti-smuggling operations. The resolve of the command to remain resolute in actualising the vision/mission of the service and the policy thrust of the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) without compromise cannot be over-emphasised,” he said.
Commenting on the revenue figure, the Customs Area Controller attributed the feat to the commitment of his management team, the cooperation and compliance level of the stakeholders and the host communities that were ready to partner with him in transforming the Command.
So, with the removal of the main source of revenue, it is expected that the revenue of the command will be halved in the coming months.
Source: Thesun
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