The operatives of Nigeria Customs Service in Port Harcourt Area ll Command, Onne Port, Rivers State has recorded 28 seizures in the first half of year 2022.
The seizures made is said to consisting of nine containers with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦531,386,166.78 which exceeded by eight the 20 made between January and June of 2021.
According to a statement released by the Command Public Relations Officer, SC Ifeoma Onuigbo Ojekwu, the seized items were listed to include, machetes brought into the country without end user certificate, military wears, vegetable oil, whisky, soap and used clothing.
Other seizures recorded include used tyres, foreign parboiled rice, tomato paste, used vehicle parts and other items either classified as prohibited or for which duty payment were being evaded.
The statement also reveal that the command collected a total of
₦115,264,159,921.12 revenue within the period under review.
The amount collected shows a remarkable difference from the ₦78b collected in the first half of 2021 and ₦46.6b collected in same period of 2020.
In comparison, the revenue generated indicates 147 percent increase above the 2020 collection and 47 percent increase above 2021 figure showing differences of ₦37,097,079,630.91 and ₦68,597,503,002.82 for 2021 and
2020 respectively.
The statement reads in parts that the Customs Areas Controller in charge of the command, Compt. Auwal Mohammed, disclosed that the revenue collection showed a monthly upward progression, which resulted in the cumulative differences in the three-year period under review
Speaking on export trade, a total of 876,775.60 Metric Tonnes with $495,384,221.99 free on board (FOB) value translating into ₦203,969,499,562.18 and Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) value of ₦1,075,060,914.52 were processed through the command in the period under review.
The above export figures are over a hundred and fifty (150) percent increase in value to that of first half 2021
The 2022 export statistics shows an improvement on the 2021 figures which is a fallout of CAC Auwal Mohammed trade facilitation strategies.
Comparatively, as at June 2021, the command had processed 331,356.40 metric tonnes with free on board (FOB) value of $141,422,075.87. The FOB value in naira was ₦58,229,125,518.73 with NESS value of ₦260,150,300.13
It also reads that Comptroller Auwal Mohammed has brought to the knowledge of port users that there is a Domestic Export Warehouse (DEW) approved by fed govt at Onne.
According to Aiwal, the DEW provides further opportunities for exporters to process and package their
exports including packaging while enjoying the seamlessness of export cargo warehouse in Onne directly
to vessels.
He disclosed that due diligence by regulatory and government agencies functions, including Customs examination shall be conducted in the DEW facility.
The Command boss described the DEW facility as a one stop shop emplaced by the Federal Government to promote and encourage export trade which the command has aligned with ahead of its full take off
Giving a short remake at the Command on Friday, Comptroller Auwal said, “This revenue, seizure and export figures coming at the end of first half of the year attests to a good outcome from our efforts.
“While thanking my officers and men for sticking to the vision of the Comptroller General of Customs,Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd.) and implementing the service mandate without compromise, I want to thank our compliant traders
“Like I have always said in our parades with officers and meetings with stakeholders, there are numerous advantages attached to being compliant.
“It saves time, raises profit of traders by helping to prevent payment of demand notices and penalty payments by persons trying to cut corners and raises the integrity level of the port user in our profiling system for fast track plus other benefits.
“Compliant traders are our partners in progress. Indeed, we as a service in this Command will continue to lawfully support them.
“It is also expedient to appreciate other agencies of government for their cooperation, intelligence sharing and camaraderie in implementing government policies to enhance national security and economic interests
“I want to urge all our officers to brace up to better performance in the second half of this year and together, let’s achieve outstanding results in all our functions.
“My optimism is high because even deployment of scanners to use, will improve on our efficiency,” he said.
