Customs CG, Hameed Ali
By Our Reporter
…Senate Queries Agency Over Non-remittance
The Nigerian Customs Service ( NCS), said that it had generated N573 billion between January and May this year from total targeted revenue of N957 billion for the 2020 fiscal year .
The Comptroller General of Customs , Hameed Ali , stated this during an interactive session on revenue generation with the Senate Committee on Customs .
However, the Senate Committee on Customs , took a swipe at the agency on non- remittance of operation surplus every year .
In his submission before the Committee, the Customs CG, represented by Deputy Comptroller General ( DCG) in charge of Human Resources, Sanusi Abubakar Umar , said Customs was able to realise more than half of the targeted revenue for the year due to blockage of identified leakages .
“As a result of blocking of identified areas of leakages and free flow of traffic for importers during the COVID-19 lockdown , our revenue generation increased rapidly to about N6 to N7billion per day , making us to rake in N573billion within five months which is more than half of the N957billion targeted revenues for us in 2020.
“From January to May this year, the performance of the budget is N37, 865867750 representing 15.90%
The target given to the service in terms of revenue was N1.6trillion but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the target was reviewed to N957billion . As at January to May, the service had collected N573, 190, 265, 605.21billion “, he said.
The committee queried the Customs CG on non- remittance of surpluses made every year, particularly in 2018 and 2019.
Specifically , a member of the committee and retired Custom officer , Senator Francis Adenigba Fadaunsi ( PDP Osun East), acussed the agency of not reflecting the surpluses in their reports before the committee .
“ In 2019 alone , you made surplus of N34billion which is not reflected in the 2020 reports before us”, he said.
