By Anthony Nwachukwu
A combination of systemic challenges, especially incessant fluctuations in exchange rate for cargo clearance and a “notable decline in cargo throughput” adversely affected the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) 2024 Q1 overall trade facilitation and revenue performance, the agency said.
These notwithstanding, the NCS posted an impressive total revenue of N1,347,675,608,972.75 in the period under review, representing 122.35 per cent increase over the N606,119,935,146.67 collected in the same period of last year.
Disclosing these in his 2024 Q1 briefing in Abuja Wednesday, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adeniyi, said the decline in cargo throughput was “evidenced by a 4.89 per cent decrease in the volume of transactions handled.”
He listed other impediments in that category to include non-compliance with regulations and infrastructure limitations, just as “significant fluctuations in exchange rates applied in the customs clearance of consignments posed considerable difficulties.”
Adeniyi, who noted that the exchange rates were determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), explained that “in the last quarter, a total of 28 rates were directed by the CBN, ranging from N951.94/$1 in January 2024 to a peak of N1,662.35/$1 in February 2024.
“While a singular exchange rate of N951.94/$1 was maintained in January, February witnessed 15 different spot rates ranging from N951.94 per $1 to N1,662.35/$1.
“March saw a total of 13 different spot rates, ranging from N1,303.84 to N1,630.16. These fluctuations resulted in an average applied exchange rate of N1,314.03/$1 in the clearance of customs goods during the quarter.”
According to the CGC, “the repercussions of these fluctuating rates have sent concerning signals to our stakeholders, affecting and disrupting activities. Beyond the speculation regarding potential gains it may have on NCS revenue, the implications on transaction volumes are significant and outweigh any possible benefits.
“These concerns are already manifesting in current activities, with the potential for lagged effects in the coming months.
“Mindful of these implications on the trading public and the overall economy, the NCS, with the support of the Minister of Finance, has initiated periodic consultations with the CBN to mitigate the potential impact of exchange rate fluctuations on import activities.”
Meanwhile, a breakdown of the NCS revenue profile for Q1 shows a collection of N390,824,148,326.55 for January, which surged by 95.60 per cent from the N199,809,974,327.52 recorded in January 2023.
The upward trend continued in February 2024 with a revenue collection of N450,209,267,557.15 – a staggering 138.68 per cent growth from the N188,625,011,386.87 in February 2023.
In March, revenue collected grew by 132.76 per cent – from N217,669,949,432.28 in 2023 to N506,642,193,019.05 in 2024.
Relative to the 2024 revenue target of N5.07 trillion, with monthly revenue target as N423 billion, Adeniyi said the Q1 performance was an average monthly growth of 6.2 per cent over the set target, and a cumulative 18.6 per cent – equivalent to N78,675,608,972.75 – over the set quarterly target of N1.269 trillion.
In the fight against smuggling, “in the first quarter of 2024, the NCS recorded a total of 572 seizures, encompassing various items valued at N10,593,099,654.50 in Duty Paid Value (DPV),” with rice constituting 39 per cent of the seizures, followed by petroleum products at 26 per cent, and motor vehicles and textiles at 9 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.
“During this period, the NCS detained 22 suspects, and appropriate legal measures will be taken in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Also, “in 2024 Q1, the NCS processed a total of 311,492 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) for imports, reflecting the volume of import transactions handled. This figure indicates a decrease (of 15,999) compared to the total volume of 327,491 processed in 2023, and (91,741) compared to the 403,233 SGDs in 2022.
“Regarding export transactions, a total of 10,786 SGDs were processed in 2024 compared to 9,752 transactions in 2023, representing a 10.60 per cent growth in export activities.
“Notably, a significant portion of this growth occurred in January, with 4,067 transactions processed in 2024 compared to 3,352 SGDs in 2023, marking a 29.69 per cent increase.”
Meanwhile, through the recently introduced E-auction, the agency generated a total of N1.6 billion in February and March.
