Controller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali has announced a total seizure of smuggled items nationwide amounting to N38,078,927,908.90 between January 2015 and May 2018.
Controller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali has announced a total seizure of smuggled items nationwide amounting to N38,078,927,908.90 between January 2015 and May 2018.
Speaking in Lagos at a workshop on prevention of revenue leakages in the maritime industry, Ali said the Service is more committed to enhancing transparency and facilitating trade.
Ali, who was represented by Aminu Dahiru, Assistant Comptroller General and Zonal Coordinator in charge of Zone A, added that the service has deployed improved technology and skills to achieve it’s goals.
He said: ”The NCS in furtherance of trade facilitation had migrated from Long Room procedure to the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) and now the Nigeria Customs Information System (NICIS11).
” In a bid to further enhanced our transparency, we have upgraded to NICIS11 to interconnect more stakeholders and automate more of our processes. The importer or exporter can from the comfort of his office,lodge his declaration on the system.
“The service has developed Nigeria Trade Hub,a trade portal where information on classification, Government Agencies, Licensed Customs Agents, trade news, currency converters, help desk, import and export prohibition list are contained
“The auction of overtime and seized goods have been automated to eliminate corruption and discretion. The e-auction platform has several advantages including proper valuation of goods, higher revenue accruing to government, transparency and eligibility of all Nigerian taxpayers to participate.”
He added that the training curriculum of Customs Command and Staff College has been upgraded to meet the challenges of a 21st century Customs service.