TINCAN COMMAND ENDED 2022 WITH MODEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN REVENUE GENERATION —- OLOYEDE
** As Command recorded a percentage increase of 16.33%
By Mcanthony Onuoha
The Nigeria Customs, Tincan Island Command, collected a total of Five Hundred and Seventy -Four Billion, Two Hundred and Ninety Million,Two Hundred and Ten Thousand, Five Hundred and Ninety-Nine Naira, Thirty- Eight Kobo only (N574,290,210,599,38) between January to December 2022.
According to the Customs Area Controller, Tincan Island Command, Comptroller AAS Oloyede, during a press briefing at the Command’s conference Hall on Friday, the 27th of January, 2023, said the figure when compared to the Four Hundred and Ninety -Three Billion,Six Hundred and Eighty -Two Million,Three Hundred and Sixty -Nine Thousand,Two Hundred and Sixty -Four Naira, Thirty-Five Kobo(N493,682,369,264.35) collected in 2021 indicated an increase of Eighty Billion,Six Hundred and Seventy Million,Eight Hundred and Forty -One Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Naira, Three Kobo(N80,607,841,335.03).
The CAC said that the percentage increase of 16.33% against the previous year’s revenue collection could be attributed to the constant rejigging of existing measures geared towards sustaining the Command’s Revenue profile as well as utilization of some disruptive strategic measures such as periodic capacity building, reshuffling and redeployment of officers using SWOT analysis, implementation of the VIN Valuation, Automation of the ‘846’ procedure, re- introduction of the NIIT after the deployment of a Non- Intrusive Inspection Technology Equipment to the Command, proper profiling, System Audit, Proper recheck or Examination and detailed but clearly input Inspection Acts. According to him, the Command also ensured robust and continuous Stakeholders Engagement and Collaboration with all Sister Government Agencies and Maritime Associations. The achievements he said, led to timely intelligence sharing, utilization and voluntary compliance to Government’s Extant Laws by the Trading Public.
In the area of Enforcement and Anti- Smuggling, the Area Controller said that the Command increased surveillance on declarations made in the Command in order to sniff out improper declarations as well as offending items. He disclosed that the measure paid off with the Command recording a total of Thirty-eight (38) seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of One Billion,Eight Hundred and Forty-Six Million,Three Hundred and Seventy -Two Thousand, Eighty- Three Naira,Fifty Kobo only (N1,846, 372,083.50).
The seizure record, according to Comptroller Oloyede, when compared with the 2021 record of Twenty-Seven (27) seizures with DN of Six Hundred and Seven Million,Two Hundred and Sixty- Seven Thousand Six Hundred and Seventeen Naira(607,267,617.00) only, showed an increase of eleven (11) seizures and One Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-Nine Million,One Hundred and Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Six Naira, Fifty Kobo only (N1,239,104,466.50). The increase in Duty Paid Value (DPV) he said, could be associated with increased surveillance and intensified anti-smuggling drive,high value of seized items and the Naira- Dollar depreciation which leads to high exchange rate on imported items.
The prohibited items, the Command said were seized and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria in line with the provision of sections 46 and 161 of the Customs &Excise Management Act(CEMA) Cap 45 LFN 2004 and Absolute Prohibition List of CET 2022-2026. The Command acknowledged the crucial roles played by the Customs Intelligence Unit, Valuation Unit,FOU,CGC Strike Force as well as interventions of Sister Regulations Agencies like the NDLEA, NAFDAC, DSS, SON,the Nigeria Police and others in ensuring that the seizures and detentions were made. A total of 60 suspects were detained in 2022 and we’re granted adminstrative bail while the Command still has eight cases pending in court.
On Trade Facilitation/Engagements, the CAC said that the Command intentionally and strategically created more conducive, friendly and calm atmosphere for the Trading Public in the year under review, adding that there were continuous segmented Stakeholders Engagement /Meeting to address specific issues as they arose as well as robust collaboration with relevant Stakeholders and Regulatory Agencies of Government. Furthermore, the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), which according to the CAC, was a structure put in place by the Command for prompt resolution of Trade Disputes, led to reduction of average clearing time of issue laden imports in line with the provision of import duty mechanism as outlined in (H) Sub-paragraph 8 of the Import Guidelines, Procedure and Documentation Requirements which allows an importer to take delivery of his cargo in the case of persistent dispute after securing a Bank Bond covering the total duties and taxes payable on the items being disputed.
However, the Command disclosed that it recorded significant increase in the FOB of exports during the period under review to the tune of N242,365,322,333,00 as against N141,989,109,159,00 recorded in the year 2021, representing an improvement of the FOB by 34.4%, the increase, the Command said, was attributed to the high quality and value of exported commodities but regretted a decrease in Tonnage of Export from 1,723,986.8 in 2021 against 336,179.5 recorded in 2022 saying that the decrease in Tonnage could be connected to current Government Fiscal Policy which prohibited the export of wood and wood products as well as the Global unrest with its prevalent economic challenges.
The Command appreciated all stakeholders and Sister Government Agencies involved in the export chain with special commendation to the Nigerian Ports Authority for their seamless collaboration in facilitating the clearance process of export- related cargo at the Tincan Port Command.
On the implementation of VIN Valuation and Automation of ‘846’ procedure, the Command’s Helmsman said that the VIN Valuation has simplified and facilitated the Customs clearance processes of Legitimately imported vehicles by providing a uniform, fair and neutral value across board on vehicles with identical brands,model and year of manufacture in line with the provisions of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) of 1994. He added that the VIN Valuation Platform helped the Command to achieve expedited Clearance Process due to predictability of value- assessment, increased Revenue Generation, improved ease of doing business as well as generation of accurate statistics for the Federal Government.
He disclose that most of the initial challenges at the early stages of implementation have been reduced to the barest minimum as the Command built on both the challenges of the use of ‘846’ for non-standard and accidented vehicles that were not captured in VIN Valuation Service on the NICIS with the use of the financial regime’000′. The ‘846’ automated procedure he said, was developed to allow declarants submit, monitor and track the status of their applications online and in real time.
The web- based application, Oloyede said, automated the current manual process thereby eliminating paper work, delays, document falsifications and has increased revenue through enhanced processing time adding that it was nostalgic to note that despite the myriad of benefits of the system,the trainings organized for the stakeholders and the creation of help desk with dedicated officers and phone numbers, recalcitrant stakeholders still circumvent the platform, engage in falsification of documents,forge signatures and insist on non-compliance to the system.
Regardless of the misconducts, Oloyede reiterated that the command was poised to continuous building on the Automation Simplification and Standardization of all Customs processes in line with the Revised Kyoto Convention as well as international best practices.
For 2023, the CAC said that the prognosis of the Command would include Improved Revenue profile; Facilitation of Legitimate Trade, Enhanced capacity and skills of Officers and Men of the Command adding that conscientious efforts would be made on making the VIN Valuation, the Automated 846 Procedure as well as the deployment of the Non Intrusive Inspection Technology (NIIT) platform work more effectively as it was in line with the projected digitalization of all Customs Processes and Procedures under the Customs Modernization Project.
