CAC Tin Can Command, Bashar Yusuf

The Tin Can Island Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has raked in a whopping N183billion naira in eight months covering January-August 2017.

The command generated N183 billion within the first eight months of the year as against N156 billion during the previous year, despite global economic recession, which represents a 17.3 per cent increase.

Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Bashar Yusuf, who spoke on the sustained high revenue profile of the command, especially since the current fiscal year, attributed this feat to the coordinated activities and innovative spirit, not only of the management but also of the officers and men.

According to him, the command has sustained a high revenue profile since the beginning of the year, despite the obvious economic challenges that have contributed to the drastic reduction in the volume of imports, attributing the feat to the deliberate creative policies and stimulus plans that enabled the leadership of the command to block all possible areas of revenue leakages.

The command collected a total of N28billion for the month of August alone, which is the highest revenue collection in the history of the command.

Details of the revenue chart shows that a total of N19.8billion was collected in the month of January while N21billion was collected in the month of February.

Other details also show that the revenue profile declined marginally in March with the collection of N20.9billion when compared to the February figures, which further dipped to N20.3billion in the month of April.

The chart also shows that the command collected a total of N23.97billion in the month of June as against the N23.87billion collected in the month of July.

The CAC said: “It therefore implies that but for the exclusion of 41items from the Foreign exchange window, the command would have doubled its revenue profile”.

“The Command is becoming more thorough in its revenue drive, to the extent that all high revenue yielding consignments are closely monitored to avoid circumvention of procedure. The Customs high command expects so much from the command and as such the command will continue to develop adequate operational template and modalities that will be capable of entrenching integrity in our operations”.

He insisted that all officers and men of the command have a compelling need to discharge their functions in line with the change mantra of the Comptroller-General of Customs Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd).

The CAC, who also vowed to sustain and surpass the revenue target of the command, however commended the stakeholders over their compliance level to Federal Government’s fiscal policies.

He also advised the few non-compliant ones to toe the path of integrity through honest declaration in their documentations, noting that integrity, due diligence, honest declarations and transparency are key elements in 21st century Customs operations.

On his strategy for the ember months, the Controller said out that high cargo traffic is usually expected at this period of the year and advised importers to desist from importing unwholesome in view of the implications.

“All importers ought to be conversant with the external tariff, especially schedules three and four (prohibition other than trade and absolute prohibition)”, he said.