The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) made a lot of money in the first half of 2024. They earned N2.74 trillion!
This is much more, about 127% more, than what they made in the same time in 2023. They did this even though they had fewer cargo shipments.
The NCS had a goal to make N2.54 trillion, but they beat this goal by 8%. They shared this great news in their mid-year report for 2024.
The NCS said their success came from using an e-auction system and giving people 90 days to pay for vehicles that were not properly imported.
They stated, “The NCS did really well in the first half of 2024. With a goal of N2.54 trillion, we collected N2.74 trillion. This is 8% more than our goal and 127% more than last year’s revenue. In the second quarter alone, we collected N1.395 trillion, which is 10% more than our quarterly goal and 131% more than Q2 2023.”
“Important steps that helped us include our e-auction system, which brought in over N1.34 billion, and giving 90 days to pay for uncustomed vehicles, which added N4.37 billion to our revenue. These steps made our customs process more transparent, compliant, and efficient, showing our commitment to doing great work.”
Anti-smuggling efforts
- From January to June, the NCS stopped 2,442 smuggling attempts. The items they caught were worth NGN 25,520,652,942.87. This is a 203% increase compared to the first half of 2023.
- In the second quarter of 2024 alone, they stopped 1,334 smuggling attempts. The value of these items was NGN 17,564,384,378, which is a 121% increase from the first quarter of 2024.
- The main items they seized included animal products, vehicles, weapons, foreign rice, medicines, and drugs. They have 32 suspects in custody right now.
Challenges during the period
The NCS also talked about some problems they faced, like big changes in the exchange rate, fewer transactions, low compliance from importers and exporters, and occasional operational downtimes.
They said that the use of the Advanced Ruling system and other initiatives helped them make more money despite having fewer cargo shipments.
They explained, “The NCS has introduced the Advance Ruling System (ARS), which gives binding decisions on how to classify, value, and determine the origin of goods before they are imported or exported. Other measures we took to increase revenue included creating a strong dispute resolution framework, starting Operation Whirlwind, changing key officers, and engaging with stakeholders.”