The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Command, yesterday said it generated N963.7 million revenue in March, up from N773.8 million generated in the corresponding period of 2015.
Public Relations Officer of the command, Selechang Taupyen, made the disclosure in a statement he sent to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY.
He said that the revenue generated in March 2016 was N189.8 million higher than what was generated in the corresponding month of 2015.
Taupyen said there were numerous interruptions in March which hampered the effective collection of maximum revenue at the Seme border,
He said that despite the interruptions, the command was able to collect over 94 per cent of its revenue target for March.
“It is pertinent to note that one of the challenges which affected the revenue generation of the commands are the two rounds of presidential elections that took place in March in Benin Republic.
“There were also security challenges during the Easter holiday. The high exchange rate and the deplorable state of the Lagos-Seme road but we were still able to achieve this.
“We are committed to generating maximum revenue despite all the hiccups and we would not use such challenges as excuses,” he said.
He said that 60 seizures were made with a Duty Paid Value (DVP) of N115.8 million.
The command’s spokesman said that three suspects were arrested in the month under review.
Taupyen said the command had zero tolerance for smuggling of imported rice through the land borders.
He urged members of the public to desist from smuggling.
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