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Tag: customs

  • Customs tightens noose around smugglers

    Customs tightens noose around smugglers

    • Seme Command deploys men in swampy terrain

    Customs men are turning the heat on smugglers in the border town of Seme in Lagos State.

    They have strengthened their presence at checkpoints and swampy areas where vehicles cannot access, The Nation gathered at the weekend.

    Last Friday, some armed senior officers were seen combing the bushes to find smugglers’ hideout.

    The Seme Customs Command has also beamed its searchlight on travellers, who bring in rice under the pretext that they are for personal consumption.

    The commodity is seized from such travellers, no matter the quantity.

    The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Ernest Olottah, said his boss, Comptroller Willy Egbudin, introduced the measure to curb smuggling. The Comptroller has also taken steps to tackle the problem at communal and inter-agency levels, Olottah said.

    He said: “Comptroller Egbudin has decided to be meeting with traditional rulers, community chiefs, youth leaders, sister government organisations and all stakeholders in the border project on routine basis, and very soon smugglers will in no distant future have no hiding place in this area.

    “The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has joined the campaign by urging other traditional rulers to key into this patriotic drive to dissuade their community members from smuggling and any other unlawful activity.

    “We have a robust Customs-community relations meeting, like a town hall model kind of interaction. This meeting bridges the gap between Customs officers on duty and the natives.

    “Continuous education and enlightenment in the simplest forms of communication are among Comptroller Egbudin’s strategies to keeping the locals informed and mobilised in supporting Customs efforts for a more economically viable and secured nation.

    “Stakeholders have also joined in expanding our intelligence network as we maximise their advantage of knowledge about the terrain to achieve our aim while also urging their youths to explore the very many legitimate means of livelihood outside smuggling.”

    Contacted, Egbudin said the Customs Comtroller-General, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi’s interest is service to the state.

    ‘’The desire of Customs is to reduce smuggling across the nation. That is why we are meeting with the representatives of the various communities in our effort to build and sustain a robust Customs community relation. The agenda for these meetings include asking them to pass the anti smuggling message to the people.

    “We are also passing the message to all Nigerians too. People are advised to obey the laws of the land, including import and export-related laws.

    “Smuggling is a crime and the more we educate people about it, the better. We achieve prevention through dissuading people to import normally and pay duty to the government.

    ‘’When I came on board, my message to communities and traditional rulers during my familiarisation tour had been a clarion call to partner with us in the protection of the National economy by discouraging smuggling among their subjects.

    “We have been utilising every opportunity at various fora to enlighten the citizenry on the ills of smuggling and this is an area where we also seek collaboration with the mass media,” he said.

  • Customs redeploys over 200 officers

    NO fewer than 200 officers from the Tin-Can Island port have been redeployed by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi.

    Sources said many of those affected were Assistant Superintendents of Customs.

    “Two hundred officers at the level of Assistant Superintendents of Customs Grade two were redeployed, but I don’t know if it is as a result of the CGC’s visit to the port last week or not,” the officer said.

    Meanwhile, the Customs has vowed to take economic sabotage and national security serious.

    Speaking at a meeting with leaders of freight forwarding associations at Tin Can port, Controller, Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU), Mr. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, said cases of “cut and lock” would be treated as economic sabotage and national security threat, warning that any Customs officer who flouts the directive would be sanctioned.

  • Customs seizes N200m worth of vehicles

    Customs seizes N200m worth of vehicles

    The Customs has impounded over 250 exotic vehicles estimated at N200 million after bursting a smuggling ring.

    Security sources at the Seme border told The Nation that the vehicles were brought in from Lome (Togo), Accra (Ghana) and Cotonou (Benin).

    Last Friday, armed Customs officers were seen moving the vehicles from towns before Gbaji River to their office at Seme. The vehicles include Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado, Mercedes Benz C-Class, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Avensis, Honda Civic cars, Honda Odyssey, Grand Cherokee Jeep, Honda CR-V, Toyota Space Bus, Nissan Pathfinder and Honda Pilot.

    Some of the vehicles, a source said, were ferried into the country through the Gbaji River.

    It was learnt that the smugglers used the new number plates on some of the vehicles as a decoy to beat Customs’ checks. But unknown to them, Customs officials had been monitoring their movement at Owode, Owode-Apa and Gbaji for over four days before swooping on them.

    The Seme Command, the source said, deployed over 20 officers in mufti in some of the communities to track the smuggled vehicles. Smuggling is said to be on the increase, following the new auto policy which took effect on February 28.

    The policy imposes higher tariffs on imported vehicles.

    The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Ernest Olottah, said when some of the smugglers saw the Customs team at Gbaji, they abandoned the vehicles and jumped into the river to evade arrest.

    He said the anti-smuggling drive was part of the Customs’ move to enforce the new auto policy, prevent the influx of prohibited goods and boost the economy.

    Last October, the government unveiled new duties and levies for imported new and used vehicles, and imported new tyres.

    Under the policy, a fully built car will attract 35 per cent duty and another 35 per cent levy of the vehicle cost, raising the tariff from 20 per cent to 70 per cent.

    The implementation of the policy, Olottah said, took effect from last Friday, adding that the policy seeks to encourage the growth of local industries and discourage the importation of tokunbo vehicles.

    The Command, he said, had not received any order from Abuja banning the importation of used vehicles.

    He said the Area Controller has introduced community relation, which has triggered synergy and collaboration with the community leaders, assisting the Command to fish out the smugglers.

    He said: “For criminal gangs that specialised in tokunbo vehicles’ smuggling, they may believe it is the new cash cow because of the new auto policy introduced by the government, and that is why we have collaborated with community leaders and held meetings with importers operating in this area on the need for them to pay government duty on imported vehicles.

    “It is the same groups that are responsible for smuggling of rice, narcotics, counterfeit medical products that are smuggling vehicles.

    “We understand that for many youths in the communities around this area, smuggling has become a socially acceptable trade. But when the new Controller assumed office at Seme about three months ago, he introduced community relations which has triggered synergy and collaboration with the community leaders and some of the youths who are now working with Customs to fish-out the smugglers and stem all acts of criminality in the border area.

    “The criminal gangs are using increasingly creative means to bring smuggled vehicles and other prohibited items into the country, but we have also mapped out strategies on how to intercept the smuggled goods and arrest the criminals involved.”

  • Customs agents decry policy inconsistency

    Customs agents decry policy inconsistency

    Members of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Murtala Muhammed Chapter, Ikeja, have decried inconsistent government policies at the ports, lamenting that they have badly affected business and disrupted the flow of investments into the country.

    Speaking in Lagos at the weekend during the inauguration of new executive members of a group within ANLCA, Idiagbon Club of Nigeria, they expressed bitterness at the inability of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide them a befitting space to use as operational base after it demolished its building located at NAHCO shed about a decade ago.

    President of the group, Mr Ademola Oluwadamilare Adetola said customs agents are partners in progress with all other agencies of the government at the ports, adding that while the other agencies are provided operational bases, agents are not.

    “We generate revenue to the coffers of the Federal Government from our activities at the ports as customs brokers. So, it is just the right thing to do for the government to provide the environment conducive for us to operate,” he said.

    The Vice President of the group, Balogun Olashile, said the agents have had to contend with the pains of inconsistent policies in the ports, a situation he said, had led to loss of revenue to the government and importers.

    “One of the major challenges we are facing in the industry is inconsistent policies. When a new policy is introduced, it takes time for the policy to be understood by all stakeholders, but the sad thing is that no sooner had we started understanding the policy than the government would come out with another one.”

    It is not healthy for the industry because it brings about delays in the process of getting the good cleared,” he said.

    Out-going president of the group, Mr Abiodun Ogunbona said inconsistent policy regime makes the investment climate to be unpredictable for investors. He charged FAAN to provide the enabling environment for agents to do their business, adding that a situation where they do not have a place they could call their office is not good enough.

    He described as baseless, allegation that agents collude with men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to shortchange the government.

    “It is not true that we collude to defraud the government. The Customs men are at the ports to carry out their official responsibilities. They do their work and the agents do theirs. So, it is not correct to say we collude with them to shortchange the government.,” he said.

     

     

  • Customs generates N85b

    Customs generates N85b

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) says  it generated N85billion in December last year, after it took over the Destination Inspection (DI) scheme from the former service providers at the ports.

    Its spokeman, Wale Adeniyi said the NCS generated N70 billion in the month of November before it took over the scheme.

    As part of efforts to position its officials towards facilitating trade, the NCS said it has come up with different initiatives such as the Single Window project, the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), information technology (IT)-based services and  computerisation  of its operations among others.

    Adeniyi who spoke during an enlightenment campaign in Lagos yesterday, said with the introduction  PAAR,  Customs has shown its readiness to improve the trade environment and reduce transactions cost between importers and the government beyond what the service providers were doing under the Risk Assessment Report (RAR).

    Its decision  to introduce the PAAR  on all goods coming to the country, he said, is to reduce human contact and facilitate trade at the ports.

    Adeniyi  however, urged importers to improve their compliance level to reduce cargo dwell time in transactions and quick release of their consignments from the ports.

    Payment for Customs duty, reconciliation and release of cargoes from ports,  Adeniyi said, can now be done electronically by all importers from the comfort of their offices.

  • Customs seizes N36.2m worth of goods

    Customs seizes N36.2m worth of goods

    The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has impounded a total of two hundred and 74 bales of second hand clothing and 24 bales of lace materials with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N36, 243,000.00.

    Giving a breakdown of the seizures, the Area Controller of the zone, Victor David Dimka said 253 bales of the second hand clothing were concealed with 45 cartons of Honey Well Noodle in a Mack truck with registration number BDG 809 XD worth about N26, 932, 000. 00 on the Ituku –Ozzala Enugu/Aba Road, 24 bales of lace materials and six jumbo bales of second hand clothing worth about N5,806,000.00 were deceitfully hidden in a J5 bus with registration number XA 606 KAF.

    Dimka who disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri, while displaying the seized contraband, said the Zone also made a seizure of 15 jumbo bales of second hand clothing packed in a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number AKL 595 XA on the Onitsha –Adani Nsukka Road with a DPV of N2, 530, 000.00, adding that all the seizures were made within three days.

    He said two suspects who were arrested in connection with the incident are now helping NCS officials in their investigation and would soon be charged to court.

    Dimka who reiterated the determination of his men to tackle the scourge of smuggling in the country, assured that the NCS are now better transformed and equipped to achieve its constitutional objective.

    Apart from the suspects already in custody, Dimka said efforts are in top gear to apprehend those behind them.

  • Customs, agents trade words over ports delays

    Customs, agents trade words over ports delays

    • World Bank seeks trade facilitation

     

    The Customs and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) are trading words over the delays in cargo clearance at the ports.

    ANLCA claims the Customs is responsible for the delay, an allegation which the para-military agency denies.

    The Customs alleges that the agents cause the delay through insincere declaration and documentation of import papers.

    At a meeting with a World Bank delegation in Lagos, ANLCA said physical examination of goods was responsible for the large number of people at the ports.

    The process, the agents noted, requires the presence of importers or their agents and others involved in it.

    ANLCA also accused the Federal Government of contributing to the delay because of its emphasis on revenue generation rather than trade facilitation by the Customs.

    The four-man World Bank team led by Antoine Coste, an international trade consultant, looked at the challenges hampering international trade, transport and logistics and how to facilitate trade at the ports and the international borders.

    ANLCA urged the World Bank to prevail on the government to strike a balance between trade facilitation and revenue generation by the Customs.

    Sources at the meeting said ANLCA’s President Alhaji Olayi-wola Shittu complained of interferences from some banned government agencies at the ports, which, he said, were hampering cargo delivery.

    Shittu claimed that the profiling of importers by the Customs was halted because majority of the importers were not honesty.

    Profiling, a source said, would have facilitated trade, but it is not so because many importers make wrong declarations.

    On the crowd at the ports, the source said, Shittu told the team that over 60 per cent of those coming to the ports were not supposed to be there.

    “Shittu informed the World Bank team that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) registered five associations to carry on the business of moving cargoes across international borders. They are ANLCA, National Council of Managing Directors Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Association of Registered Freight Forwarders, Nigeria (AREFFN) and National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC). All these associations have their areas of specialisation. He said the ‘Honey Pot’ is the Licensed Customs Brokers, because there are no defined roles for others,” the source said.

    Shittu, who confirmed the World Bank’s visit, said it was to facilitate bilateral trade.

    Customs spokesman Wale Adeniyi said the team met with Customs to assess what the Service is doing with the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) and consolidate on its gains.

    In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Customs Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit Zone C Mr David Dimka said honest declaration of goods enhanced speedy clearance and effective Customs services.

    “We have always said that whenever you make an honest declaration, Customs will release your goods within the stipulated time.

    “When you fail to document properly, Customs will be forced to delay your goods in order to achieve the required standards.

    “The Customs is concerned with revenue generation for the country and security of what comes in and goes out of the country,” Dimka said.

    He said importers should be blamed whenever goods were delayed at the ports because of improper documentation.

    Dimka urged port users to play by the rules to avoid delays.

  • Customs denies report of shoot-out with police

    THE Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has debunked media report of a shoot-out said between its men and the police. While reacting to the report of the shoot-out, which allegedly took place along the Lagos-Badagry expressway, the Public Relations Officer, Federal Operations Unit “A”, Ikeja, Uche Ejesieme(DSC), said, “We wish to state categorically that the incident in question was just a minor misunderstanding which did not degenerate into a shootout as insinuated in the media. “We wish to reiterate that the Nigeria Customs Service has a robust working relationship with other security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, and therefore the mere fact that an incident which involved a policeman in mufti and some Customs officials does not suggest any kind of acrimony between the two government agencies.” Speaking further, he said, “It is instructive to note that the symbiotic relationship between the Nigeria Police Force and the Customs remains intact, as both agencies are ultimately working harmoniously for the interest of the nation.” Meanwhile, the new Customs Area Controller in Ogun State, Mr. Haruna Mamudu, has declared that there would be a total war on smuggling activities in the state. Speaking during a media briefing on the efforts of his command at curbing smuggling activities, Mamudu said that, “my men are well prepared and mobilised to confront and stop their vicious operations in Ogun State.We are conducting the war on smuggling of rice and frozen poultry products with utter vehemence.” “We have so far seized 9,871 bags of rice worth N59 million and 5,431 worth N21 million.The mence of motorcycle smugglers of rice is worrisome.We have so far impounded hundreds of the motorcycles.” Some suspected fraudsters, Austin Movor and Peter Patrick, who were arrested for faking customs’ papers and documents were also paraded. He promised to strengthen and nurture the Ogun/Guandong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa as a revenue generation platform.

  • Customs generate N73.2bn at PTML Command in 2013

    Customs generate N73.2bn at PTML Command in 2013

    The revenue generated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ports and Terminal Multi-Services Ltd. (PTML) Command rose to N73.2 billion in 2013 up from N71.2 billion collected in 2012.

    The Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Steve Okonmah, disclosed this over the weekend in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    According to him, the revenue result achieved in 2013 reflects a 2.7 per cent increase compared to that of 2012.

    He said: “In 2013, PTML Customs Command, a model port, realised the sum of N73, 210, 954, 981 as against a total revenue of N71, 267, 589, 007.

    This shows that in 2013, there was an increase of N1, 943, 365, 974 or 2.7 per cent increase as against 2012.

    “The truth of the issue is that we were able to achieve this because the CAC in his Wisdom 30 Loop Holes and the officers were adequately sensitised.

    “You know that the CGC has already been motivating the officers. He has been training and re-training the officers.

    “So expertise, alertness and honesty on the part of officers and constant dialogue and sensitisation of agents led to this increase, notwithstanding the withdrawal of Maersk Line on April 4,“ Okonmah said.

    Okonmah said that a total of six containers were seized in 2013 which included five 40ft containers and one 20ft container.

    Okonmah also said that six vehicles such as Lexus Jeep, Mitsubishi Space Star, Toyota Camry, Nissan Murano, Nissan Quest and Toyota 4Ruuner were also seized in the period under review.

    Okonmah said that the Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the seized items was N97.3 million.

  • Customs collects N1b daily revenue at Apapa port

    Customs collects N1b daily revenue at Apapa port

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates over N1billion daily in Apapa port, Lagos.

    The revenue, sources said, is being generated as a result of full implementation of the destinationinspection scheme by the NCS and successful implementation of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) by its officials.

    The amount generated, Customs’s sources said, is part of benefit of what the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi and his team are doing to reduce the cost and time of doing business in the ports.

    But some clearing agents operating at the port have, however, expressed concern over delays in the issuance of the PAAR by Customs.

    The agents alleged that it takes up to two weeks to get PAAR as a result of bottlenecks created by Customs officials.

    A clearing agent, Mr Segun Ogunjimi told The Nation that the issuance of PARR is not well-coordinated at the Apapa port, urging the Customs CGC to intervene.

    He advised the CGC to harmonise the system if he must achieve the vision of clearing goods at the ports in less than six hours.

    The agents also accused officers of taking undue advantage of the provisional release granted by the CGC to importers and agents who are yet to clear their consignments before the take-off of PAAR.

    It was alleged that some Customs officers at each point of the documentation process demand between N5,000 and N20,000 to process application already submitted by agents.

    CustomsArea Comptroller, Apapa Area Command,Comptroller Charles Edike confirmed the revenue generated.

    He, however, debunked the allegation of extortion by Customs officers.

    He said delays encountered in the issuance of PAAR were not caused by his officers as he said that it is not the responsibility of Customs to transfer agents’ documentation to the PAAR portal.

    “Customs does not transfer the papers to the PAAR portal and the banks will not transfer to us until they are sure that the documentations are correct.

    ‘’The agents should first of all confirm that the banks have actually finished their own part and transferred it to Customs portal before complaining. If the banks are not satisfied that the agent or importer has done the right thing, they won’t transfer to us” he said