The Nigeria Customs Service, Port & Terminal Multipurpose Limited Command, has revealed that it collected N66.9bn in revenue for the first quarter of 2024.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, Muhammad Yakubu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
Yakubu said when compared with N44.7bn collected in the same period in 2023, it showed a difference of N22.1bn, representing a 49.6 per cent increase.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Saidu Yusuf, described the increase in revenue collection as a laudable feat.
He said the command was more committed to trade facilitation and supporting the government’s drive to ensure ease of doing business.
Yusuf thanked the management of the service for initiating strategies to achieve faster cargo clearance.
The CAC reiterated that the command under his watch planned to surpass its record of three-hour cargo clearance for compliant traders.
According to Yusuf, the launching of the time release study, which is ongoing, and other deliberate efforts by the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, have contributed to the expansion of terminal space and promoting ease of doing business in PTML.”
“PTML Command has the potential to achieve a two-hour cargo clearance and surpass its existing three-hour records if port users’ compliance level is improved upon,” Yusuf said.
The PTML Customs boss described the command as one of the safest and most secure environments for roll-on-roll-off and general cargoes.
He urged importers and their agents to take advantage of the incentives available for compliant traders, “such as fast track, advance rulings, and possible migration to the Authorised Economic Operator status”.
The controller reminded port users in PTML of the robust and time-conscious dispute resolution mechanism, which he claimed had contributed immensely to the revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti-smuggling functions of the command.
Yusuf commended the government and private sector stakeholders for their cooperation and support in achieving the government’s goal of revenue collection and prevention of unlawful activities.
He expressed optimism that the command would exceed its annual target for the year.
He described the importation of vehicles meant for Nigerian roads into neighbouring countries with the intent to smuggle them through unapproved roads into Nigeria as unpatriotic and an act of economic sabotage.
Yusuf added that the command had the capacity for seamless and efficient processing of such automobile cargoes.
He enjoined officers of the command to maximally deploy available technology and rededicate themselves to the job to achieve more in the second quarter and the first half of the year.