…as CG laments suspension of exercise policy on Sale of Carbonated Drinks in Nigeria
Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives Commitee on Finance has called on the Nigerian Custom Service, NCS, to partner and collaborate more with stakeholders and sister agencies for the purpose of generating more revenue for the government.
The Deputy Chairman of of the Finance Committee, Hon Abdullahi Saidu who presided over the committee meeting yesterday gave the charge during his Committee’s ongoing revenue monitoring exercise with some federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Speaking at the event, the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Adewale Bashir Adeniyi lamented against recent suspension of exercise policy on carbonated drinks by the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC.
The Custom boss further informed that the policy is biting hard on his organization even as he told the lawmakers that it’s really affecting their revenue generation base.
He further informed that the first mandate of the his agency is that of revenue generation which statutorily is always paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federal government.
He also stated that the revenue generation is set by the agency on a quarterly basis adding that the revenue generation capacity of his agency is hinged on many extraneous factors
The NCS boss equally informed the House Committee that in 2024 fiscal year, the agency had set a target of N5.079 trillion and a monthly target of N423 billion and N1.369 billion for each quarter.
Speaking further on seizures, he said that his agency had recorded 468 siezures in the first quarter of 2024 which was worth N1.9 trillion.
He equally noted that most of the siezures carried out by his officers were mostly on carbonated drinks adding that the ban on the product is affecting the agency’s revenue generation capacity.
He also said that the revenue generation profile of the agency is affected by the volume of cargoes coming into the nation’s ports.
He said:” The reduction in the volume of cargoes coming into the nation’s ports have affected our revenue.
“We are looking at the projection for the second quarter of 2024 and we believe that by the end of June 2024, we would’ve been able to generate N3 billion”.
On the non-inclusion of the cost of collection of the revenue in the document submitted to the House Committee, he said it was deliberate.
He however said that the Act establishing the agency had empowered it to collect 7% of the total revenue as the cost of collection.
The deputy chairman of the Committee who had earlier commended the revenue drive and generation capacity of the agency said that it had surpassed the expectation of the House and revenue authorities.
He however, urged the agency to properly look into the issue of granting of waivers to importers of goods and services into the country insisting that if there must be waivers, it must have huge benefits for the nation’s economy.
