Customs Record 127% Revenue Surge in Six Months

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced a 127 percent increase in revenue for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, the service’s National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, highlighted the service’s impressive mid-year performance.

“With a half-year revenue target of N2.54 trillion, the NCS collected N2.74 trillion, exceeding the target by eight percent and achieving a 127 percent increase over the previous year’s revenue,” Maiwada stated.

He reported that N1.395 trillion was collected in the second quarter alone, surpassing the quarterly target by 10 percent and marking a 131 percent increase over Q2 2023.

Maiwada attributed this success to key initiatives, including the e-auction platform, which generated over N1.34 billion, and a 90-day duty payment window for uncustomed vehicles, which added N4.37 billion to the revenue.

These measures significantly improved transparency, compliance, and efficiency in customs processes, reinforcing the NCS’s commitment to excellence.

From January to June 2024, the NCS intensified its anti-smuggling efforts, recording 2,442 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) exceeding N25 billion, a 203 percent increase compared to the first half of 2023. In Q2 2024 alone, 1,334 seizures were made with a DPV of N17.56 billion, a 121 percent increase over Q1 2024.

Seized items included wildlife, vehicles, arms and ammunition, foreign rice, pharmaceuticals, and narcotics, with 32 suspects taken into custody.

The NCS processed 620,467 Single Goods Declarations in the first half of 2024, reflecting a 39 percent reduction from the same period in 2023. Despite this decline, the NCS implemented several initiatives to streamline and expedite customs processes, such as enhancing automation procedures, providing capacity-building programs for officers, and establishing public-private partnerships to improve customs clearance efficiency.

These efforts are aimed at boosting Nigeria’s trade competitiveness and supporting economic growth. However, the NCS faced challenges, including significant fluctuations in the exchange rate, reduced transaction volumes, low compliance among importers and exporters, and periodic system downtimes. These issues affected revenue consistency and overall operational efficiency.

To address these challenges, the NCS implemented strategies such as real-time system auditing, post-clearance audits, and verification of documents for the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report.