Vehicle importation dropped by 40 percent in 2022 – Customs

The Ports and Terminal Multipurpose Limited Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says the introduction of Vehicles Identification Number (VIN) for clearing of imported vehicles led to a 40 per cent drop in imported vehicles in 2022.

The outgoing Controller of the Command, acting Assistant Comptroller General, Suleiman Bomai, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the activities of the command for the year.

He said the command generated N229billion as revenue into the Federal government’s coffers in 2022.

He said that the figure represented 96 per cent of the revenue target of N238bn set for the command for the period under review.

Bomai said the revenue generated was N5billion higher than the N224billion revenue collected in 2021.

“There was a drop in 2022; there was a drop of almost 40 per cent of roll-on-roll-off importation.

“The shipping lines can also confirm that there was a drop but despite the drop, look at the revenue we got,” he said.

He reiterated that some government policies such the VIN affected automobile importation through the command within the year under review.

“In the year under review about 80 per cent of the cargoes handled in the terminal were vehicles.

“As a customs command, we employed dialogue with our strategic stakeholders on the need to understand the basis of VIN valuation and engaged them severally to solicit their cooperation.

“We also strengthened our relationship with our strategic partners who are sister government agencies in the port.
Our robust interface with private sector stakeholders and government agencies is ongoing in 2023 and beyond in line with our extant standard operating procedures. It is important to state that implementation of all government policies and directives are ongoing with increasing degree of compliance being recorded so far,” Bomai explained.

He said that the absence of scanners in the command was one of the major challenges the command faced in 2022.

“The absence of non-functional scanners in the command is one of our major challenges. This will reduce the issue of 100 per cent physical examination of containerised cargo.

“As the customs modernisation project progresses, we are hoping to have a scanner for faster cargo examination.

“Available space within the command is very limited and we are managing that currently. We anticipate that in future the PTML management and our various bonded warehouse operators will expand our spaces to enhance customs operation,” he added.

Bomai said that the command handled exports of commodities such as cocoa, sesame seeds, palm oil and other foods items with 178 metric tonnes with a free on board value of $249m in 2022.

“Compared to 2021 when we had a total tonnage of about 147 metric tons, with a total FOB value of $1.4bn.

“In the year 2022, the command generated total revenue of N229billion. This represents about 96 per cent of the revenue target of N238billion set for 2021 adopted by the command in 2022.

“This shows an increase of N5billion when compared to N224billion collected within the period under review in 2021.

“This represents an increase of 2.2 per cent. Despite the recorded downtime occasioned by agents strike and alleged inability by some importers to clear their vehicles from our control, we were able to surpass 2021 revenue collection last year.”