The Seme area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service says it generated N994.8million in the month of October 2016.
Public Relations officer of the command, Taupyen Salechang who disclosed this in a statement made available to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY on Wednesday said the command also made 68 various seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N35million.
He said the revenue generated for the month of October exceeded the amount generated in the corresponding year with over N60.8million.
Controller of the command, Comptroller Victor Dimka attributed the improvement in the revenue to the cooperation of stakeholders.
He said despite the difficult times and policy changes, the stakeholders still comply and cooperate with the command in doing legitimate business in line with the government policies
He added that it is only through compliance to guidelines and procedures that infractions are avoided and the Service core mandate realised.
He identified some of the challenges that hampered the smooth revenue collection in the period under review to include the malfunctioning of the Electrical Control Cabinet and the Electricity Generating Plant of the Scanning Machine and the new policy introduced by the Republic of Benin on movement of goods from the ports to their Bonded Terminals before been transferred to the park.
He added that the prevailing high exchange rate and the dilapidated nature of the road diversion from the Republic of Benin also contributed immensely in slowing down economic activities at the border.
Dimka however noted that there is room for improvement to surpass the amount generated. He said he will continue to spur his officers and men to intensify more efforts towards suppression of smuggling and generating maximum revenue in an atmosphere of peace that will facilitate legitimate trade across the frontier.
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