Customs blames N400bn revenue shortfall on waivers, fiscal policies

The comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), has blamed fiscal policies and waivers of the government for the shortfall of revenue collected by the Service in 2022. Speaking in Abuja Friday while fielding questions from newsmen at a briefing to mark the end of a three-day global conference organised by […]

The comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), has blamed fiscal policies and waivers of the government for the shortfall of revenue collected by the Service in 2022.

Speaking in Abuja Friday while fielding questions from newsmen at a briefing to mark the end of a three-day global conference organised by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), Ali said the NCS had set a target of N3.1trillion but was able to generate N2.6trillion, with a shortfall of over N400billion.

He said, “Non-commencement of tariffs on carbonated drinks, telecommunications, among other things, affected the actualisation of the Service’s target for 2022.”

He said the service was “hopeful that 2023 will be better if all these factors would be put in place.”

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On the theme of the conference: “Enabling Customs in Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations,” Ali said he was disturbed by the security challenges in border areas.

He said that besides efforts being made to get his personnel fully equipped for the job, the Service was not resting on its oars to build their capacity for effective performance.