Reps probe Customs over alleged revenue leakage worth billion of Naria

By Christiana Ekpa

House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to investigate revenue leakage worth billion of naira as well as diversion of Containers meant for Bonded Terminals/Warehouses at the nation’s ports.
The House resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Hassan Hussain, who expressed grave concern over improper assessment of Excise Duties, overdue temporary importation, and unremitted Customs duties and levies collected by NCS officials.
In his lead debate, Hon. Hussain observed that the creation of Bonded Terminals and fast-track warehouses was aimed at decongesting the ports and facilitating trade, thereby making the ports more user-friendly and boosting revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He further frowned at the unabated activities of some unscrupulous Bonded Terminals/Warehouses across the country, which he argued are detrimental to the economy and pose a security threat to the nation.
“The House is worried that Containers meant to be transferred from mother ports under the Nigeria Customs Service, escorted with bond coverage for the value of the said containers, are diverted before reaching their final destination, as the contents of such containers are unknown, and may contain dangerous drugs, such as tramadol, or arms and ammunition that could destroy the nation.
“The House is aware that it is the policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant tax or excise duty holidays to newly established factories and industries, typically for a three-year grace period before excise duties are collected, however, some of these factories and industries abuse this largesse and continually evade paying excise duties, while in some cases, the collection of excise duties is done manually, leading to improper assessments and inadequate collections.
“The House recognises that another source of substantial revenue loss to the Federation account is through Temporal Importation (TI), an arrangement that supports investors to bring in vessels, aircraft, and other major equipment for a specified period without paying customs duties, provided a cash-backed bond with banks for the duration applied for is deposited.
“Unfortunately, many organisations with TI have exceeded their bond periods, and these bonds remain undischarged into the Federal Government’s account, resulting in unpaid duties.
“The House is concerned that another cause of revenue losses is due to the overshooting of import quotas for sugar and other essential commodities to supplement local production shortfalls, which were doubled without proper government approval, additionally, the repeated recycling of these quotas has resulted in losses amounting to billions of naira that should have accrued into the Federation account,” he noted.
The House urged NCS Comptroller-General, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi, to beam its searchlight on Nigeria Customs officers involved in the transfers and escorting of containers on Bond through the use of technology to ensure every container’s duty is collected and accounted for to its final destination.