Customs: Revenue collection increased to N2.74tn in first six months of 2024

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it collected N2.74 trillion as revenue in the first half (H1) of 2024.

This, the service said, represents a 127 percent increase in revenue collection compared to the amount recorded in H1 of 2023.

In a statement on Monday, Abdullahi Maiwada, custom’s national public relations officer, said the service’s mid-year performance indicated remarkable success.

“With a half-year revenue target of N2.54 trillion, the service has collected N2.74 trillion, surpassing the target by eight per cent and marking a 127 per cent increase over the previous year’s revenue,” Maiwada said.

“N1.395 trillion was collected for the second quarter, exceeding the quarterly target by 10 percent and representing a 131 percent increase over Q2 2023.”

Maiwada said the key initiatives that contributed to the feat were custom’s e-auction platform, which generated more than N1.34 billion.

He said the 90-day duty payment window for uncustomed vehicles contributed N4.37 billion to the revenue.

Uncustomed vehicles are those imported into a country without paying the required customs duties.

Maiwada said these measures have significantly enhanced transparency, compliance, and efficiency in customs processes, underscoring the agency’s commitment to excellence.

He said during the period under review, the service intensified its anti-smuggling operations, recording 2,442 seizures with a duty-paid value (DPV) of more than N25 billion from January to June 2024.

The customs PRO said the figure was 203 percent higher than the DPV of seizures in the corresponding first half of 2023.

“In the second quarter of 2024, the NCS made 1,334 seizures with a DPV of N17,564,384,378, representing a 121 percent increase over the first quarter of 2024,” he added.

“The top items seized include wildlife items, vehicles, arms and ammunition, foreign rice, pharmaceuticals, and narcotics, with 32 suspects in custody.”

Maiwada said the NCS processed 620,467 single goods declarations (SGDs) in the first half of 2024, reflecting a reduction of approximately 39 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

“Despite this decline, the NCS has implemented several key initiatives to simplify and expedite customs processes,” he said.

“These include reinforcement of NCS automation procedures, capacity-building programs for officers, and public-private partnerships to enhance customs clearance efficiency.”

He said these efforts were crucial in enhancing Nigeria’s trade competitiveness and supporting economic growth.

Maiwada also said the NCS faced several challenges in the first six months of 2024, including significant fluctuations in the exchange rate.

He said there were also lower volume of transactions, low compliance levels among importers and exporters, and periodic downtime

Miawada said the challenges affected the consistency of revenue collection and overall operational efficiency.