THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Port Harcourt Area II Command, Onne Port, Rivers State, has made 28 seizures of nine containers valued at ₦531,386,166.78 duty paid value (DPV) in the first half of this year.
The number of seizures is higher than 20 made between January and June 2021, according to a statement issued on Monday July 3, 2022 and signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ifeoma Onuigbo Ojekwu.
Among the seized items were machetes brought into the country without an end-user certificate, military wears, vegetable oil, whisky, soap, and used clothings.
Other seizures included used tyres, foreign parboiled rice, tomato paste, used vehicle parts, and other items either classified as prohibited or for which duty payments were being evaded.
The statement revealed that the Onne Command generated a total of ₦115.26 billion from January to June 2022. The collection showed a difference from the ₦78bn collected in the first half of 2021 and ₦46.6bn collected in the same period of 2020.
Similarly, the Command processed a total of 876,775.60 metric tonnes (MT) with a free-on-board (fob) value of $495,384,221.99 as its exports for the half-year period. The figure, when converted to naira, is N203.96bn. In 2021 June, the Command had processed 331,356.40 metric tonnes with an FOB value of $141,422,075.87. The value in naira was ₦58.22bn.
The statement, which quoted the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Auwal Mohammed, said the improved figures at the end of the first half of the year pointed to a good outcome from the efforts of the Customs officials.
Muhammed said, “As I have always said in our parades with officers and meetings with stakeholders, there are numerous advantages attached to being compliant.
“It saves time. It raises the profit of traders by helping to prevent payment of demand notices and penalty payments by persons trying to cut corners. It also raises the integrity level of the port user in our profiling system for fast-track, plus other benefits.”
The Controller reiterated a desire to support compliant traders, noting that they were partners in progress.
He encouraged port users to take advantage of a Domestic Export Warehouse (DEW) approved by the Federal government at Onne.
According to him, the DEW provides further opportunities for exporters to process and package their exports, including packaging while enjoying the seamlessness of export cargo warehouse in Onne, directly to vessels.
He said due diligence by regulatory and government agencies, including Customs examination, would be conducted in the DEW facility.
The Controller expressed optimism on better results due to the deployment of scanners to use, which he stressed would improve efficiency.
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I think the article does an excellent job of highlighting the success of the Onne Command in generating revenue and processing exports.
I believe the increased revenue is due to Customs officials’ efforts to comply with regulations.
I like that the Controller reiterated a desire to support compliant traders.
In addition, I appreciate that the DEW provides an opportunity for exporters to process and package their exports.
I love that due diligence by regulatory and government agencies, including Customs examination, will be conducted in the DEW facility.
This post makes me excited about the potential for increased trade at Onne.