From January to December 2021, the Area 2 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service in Onne Port collected a total of N188.6 billion in revenue.
Ifeoma Ojekwu, Customs Public Relations Officer at Onne Port Command in Rivers, made the announcement on Monday in a statement made available to news media.
Mrs Ojekwu stated in the statement that the Customs Area Controller, CAC, of the Command, Comptroller Auwal Mohammed, described the collection as the highest in the command’s history, and that the collection was the highest ever.
According to the statement, Comptroller Mohammed stated that the command’s revenue generation in 2021 exceeded the command’s collection in 2020 by N69.6 billion (N69.6 billion).
It was stated in the statement that the command generated revenue in the amount of N118.96 billion in 2020.
According to the CAC, 34 seizures were carried out in 2021, resulting in a total duty paid value of N11.98 billion.
“Among the seizures are 1,387 cartons of tramadol that were falsely declared in order to avoid detection,” he explained.
“Other seizures include rice, engine parts, vegetable oil, and other concealed items with the intent of evading accurate duty payments by defiant agents and importers,” according to the statement.
The command, according to Mr Mohammed, also processed 1,083,846 metric tons of cargo with a total Free On Board (FOB) value of $402,367,568 on exports during the period under review.
According to the statement, the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme, or NESS, recorded a total export value of N764,462,724 during the period under consideration.
In his remarks, Mr Mohammed praised the officers and men of the command for their unwavering dedication to ensuring the facilitation of legitimate trade and the prevention of smuggling in any form.
He urged them to step up their efforts to ensure that all NCS functions are carried out in the command by 2022.
He also advised them to prepare themselves technologically, as the scanners that had been purchased would be deployed shortly, allowing for faster cargo clearance and easier detection of concealed items.
He assured that the command would continue to build on the successes that had been achieved through its efforts in customs community relations.
The CAC also expressed its appreciation to senior officers during an end-of-year interaction, saying that they had “jointly achieved successes in revenue collection, enforcement, and trade facilitation.”
It is true that they are significant achievements that we must not only maintain but also improve in order to benefit our country’s economy and national security.
“Certainly, our numerous meetings with stakeholders and port users paid off in 2021, as we have observed significant increases in compliance levels.”
“As we approach the year 2022, let us continue to combine our law enforcement capabilities with intelligence to ensure that we are always on the lookout for attempts to circumvent the law through false declarations, under declarations, and concealments.”
The Customs and Excise Management Act states that anyone who attempts to do the wrong thing, such as smuggling through Onne Port, will have his cargo seized and may be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Act (CEMA).
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“We can’t afford to back down from our positions or disappoint those who have placed their faith in us.” It is my intention to reiterate my previous recommendation that all importers and agents who use this area for their businesses remain in compliance at all times,” he stated.
