ZAINAB JUNAID
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has Strengthened collaboration with the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Post-Mortem Sub-Committee to develop strategies aimed at boosting revenue generation and enhancing trade facilitation.
This joint effort according to a press statement by the Service Spokesman, CSC Abdullahi Maiwada, seeks to identify innovative solutions to optimize revenue collection and streamline trade processes, ultimately promoting economic growth and development in Nigeria.
In the statement, CGC Adewale noted that since January 2024, there has been a rise in export activities, increasing trade facilitation, and a new terminal has been dedicated to export-related operations.
He mentioned that regular meetings are held with exporters to discuss their challenges and determine how the service can be of help. He said that to make things easier for them, NCS is advocating a special lane for export-leading containers to increase speed.
According to the Comptroller-General, “We are conducting a Time Release Study (TRS), which is to determine how long and how much it takes to conduct an average business transaction. Thus, we are concentrating on both exports and imports.
“When we can determine where these delays are, we will be able to conduct a Post-Mortem and find out what needs to be amended to increase revenue generation.”
Still speaking, CGC Bashir said, “Authorized Economic Operators have been launched to identify compliant economic entities that we can give VIP treatment and fast-track their processes.”
He also revealed that the Advanced Ruling has been introduced for predictability to know how the trade turns out within a specified time.
The CGC, however, disclosed that the fluctuating exchange rate in recent times has affected cargo throughput, revenue generation, and trade facilitation negatively.
Chairman of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Post-Mortem Sub-Committee, Kabir Mashi, commended the service for the revenues generated into the federation account and swift response to issues.
He further obliged the Comptroller-General to work towards improving revenue collection into the federation account. He declared FAAC support to assist NCS in aiding trade facilitation.
