The Tincan Island Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos, said it generated N231.27 billion between December, 2013 and September, 2014.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Chris Osunkwo, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos. He said that the collection was made under the new Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) regime.
Osunkwo said that from January, 2012 and December, 2012, the command generated N206.14 billion while it realized N216.92 billion between January, 2013 and November, 2013, “before the introduction of PAAR”.
He said that before the PAAR regime, the least amount generated in one month by command was N14.58 billion but that the figure rose to N16.66 billion after the introduction of PAAR, which is being managed directly by the service.
PAAR has been a success. The revenue generation is remarkable since its introduction.
He said that though there were hitches at the commencement of PAAR, “such challenges have been surmounted”.
“Now we are moving at a higher speed because the customs service devised ways of tackling the challenges,’’ Osunkwo said.
He said that importers were happy with the new system because their cargoes were being released on time “provided they submitted genuine documents”.
According to Osunkwo, it will become a post-arrival and not pre-arrival inspection if importers make unreliable declarations.
He said that importation was currently fluctuating because of the state of the nation’s economy.
“The forces of demand and supply determine the level of import. Sometimes people cannot get loans to clear their goods.
“Every pre-election year in Nigeria, people seeking elective position will not want to invest money until they secure their positions. They are scared of policy summersault,’’ he explained
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