The Guardian (Nigeria)

Customs, RMAFC to recover unremitted funds, block revenue leakages

- By Adaku Onyenuchey­a

NIGERIA Customs Service ( NCS) has briefed the Revenue Mobilisati­on Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC) on its measures to recover unremitted funds, increase revenue generation and block revenue leakages.

The Comptrolle­r- General of Customs ( CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, stated this during a presentati­on at the RMAFC office in Abuja.

The CGC announced the upcoming launch of a rev - enue recovery exe rcise initiated in 2023, which recov - ered over N17 billion within four months.

He assured that the service would implement lessons learnt from the beginning of 2024, particular­ly strengthen­ing the Post Clearance Audit ( PCA) Unit.

The CGC, pleading for support from the commission and other agencies, revealed that since his appointmen­t in 2023, the service has taken significan­t steps in revenue recovery and addressing areas of possible revenue leakages.

He emphasised the need to build trust when collaborat­ing with other government agencies to achieve objectives.

He disclosed that there are agencies with legal provisions to stay at the port, while the NCS is actively collaborat­ing with them to streamline processes and ensure their presence doesn’t hinder trade facilitati­on.

Adeniyi clarified that the goal is not to assign blame but to reduce the time and cost of conducting business in the ports.

“Looking at the target of N5.1 trillion, every naira and kobo we can collect, block and remit is ver y important,” he stated.

In her paper presentati­on, Chief Superinten­dent of Customs ( CSC), Ekanem Asuquo, highlighte­d NCS’ core functions, legal framework and the need to calculate import duties accurately for proper payments.

On his part, the Chairman of RMFC, Bello Shehu, emphasised the Commission’s role in monitoring NCS activities.

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