The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it generated N4.289 trillion as revenue between January and September 2024.
The comptroller general of the service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at the Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP) 2024 Capacity Building Workshop held in Lagos yesterday.
Adeniyi who delivered a keynote paper on ‘The strategic importance of digital infrastructure in import duty collection and accountability’ stated that the revenue target for the NCS in 2024 is N5.3 trillion out of which the service collected N4,289,732,458,054.00, what with less than three months left to end the year.
“In the corresponding year, 2023, the service was able to generate a revenue sum of N3.21 trillion as also compared to the year, 2022 when the service was able to generate the sum of N2.60 trillion,” he added.
He noted that the year-on-year improvements on import duty collection showed a marked improvement by measures put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks in the adoption of digital infrastructure, which in turn “assisted the service in improving on transparency and accountability.”
He added: “We are making steady progress and this is possible because we are deploying digitalisation, ICT and innovation in our business process. It also shows the huge investment in human capacity and infrastructure by the NCS management.”
Furthermore, Adeniyi said integrating “our stakeholders into what we are doing” also ensured successes.
“One of the key components of the e-Customs modernisation project is the integration of various stakeholders into one digital platform.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated a Single Window platform which currently is being championed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service. But even prior to this period, the NCS has over 43 stakeholders within the industry and beyond who are already hooked to the Nigeria Customs Service trade platform.
“One of the key components of the e-Customs modernisation project is the integration of stakeholders. This is aimed to promote transparency by ensuring that all parties from importers to port operators are involved, real time information sharing ensured that all parties are held accountable, reduce chances of fraud and discrepancies in duty collection,” he added.
He further said digital infrastructure in import duty collection has enhanced efficiency, speed, improved transparency, increased revenue and most importantly, integration of all the stakeholders.
“Digital Infrastructure automates key processes in import duty collection, minimises errors and reduces delays. Systems like NICIS II streamlines import/export documentation, ensuring that duties are assessed in real time.
“The result is faster clearance process, free flow of goods through our ports and efficiency and most importantly, encouraging competitiveness within Nigeria and some neighbours,” Adeniyi said.
