Customs laments ban on sale of carbonated drinks, says it’s shrinking revenue generation

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service NCS has said that the ban on the sale of carbonated drinks by the National Agency for Drugs Administration and Control NAFDAC is affecting the revenue generation by the agency.

The Comptroller-General of NCS Mr Adewale Bashir Adeniyi gave the hint at the House of Representatives Committee on Finance revenue monitoring excercise with all the federal government owned Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs on Thursday.

He said that the first mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service is revenue collection which statutorily is paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federal government.

He also stated that the revenue generation is set by the agency on a quarterly basis adding that the revenue generation capacity of the agency is hinged on many extrenous factors

He informed the House Committee that in 2024 fiscal year, the agency had set a target of N5.079 trillion and a monthly target of N423 billion and N1.369 billion for each quarter.

Speaking further on seizures, he said that the agency recorded 468 siezures in the first quarter of the year 2024 which was worth N1.9 trillion.

He said that most of the siezures carried out by officers of the agency were mostly on carbonated drinks adding that the bank on the product is affecting the agency’s revenue generation capacity.

He also said that the revenue generation profile of the agency is affected by the volume of cargoes coming into the nation’s ports.

He said:” The reduction in the volume of cargoes coming into the nation’s ports have affected our revenue.

“We are looking at the projection for the second quarter of 2024 and we believe that by the end of June 2024, we would ‘ve been able to generate N3 billion”.

On the non-inclusion of the cost of collection of the revenue in the document submitted to the House Committee, he said it was deliberate.

He however said that the Act establishing the agency had empowered it to collect 7% of the total revenue as the cost of collection.

The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee Hon. Seidu Abdullahi in remark commended the revenue drive and generation capacity of the agency saying that it had surpassed the expectation of the House and revenue authorities.

He nonetheless urged the NCS CG to properly look into the issue of granting of waivers to importers of goods into the country insisting that if there must be waivers, it must have huge benefits for the nation’s economy.