The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has expressed concerns over the significant impact that the ban on the sale of carbonated drinks is having on its revenue generation.
This was disclosed by the Comptroller-General of NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, during a revenue monitoring exercise held by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance with various Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) on Thursday.
Mr. Adeniyi emphasised that the primary mandate of the NCS is to collect revenue, which is statutorily paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government.
He highlighted that the agency’s revenue generation capacity is subject to numerous external factors, and the recent ban by the National Agency for Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has become a significant challenge.
For the fiscal year 2024, the NCS set an ambitious target of N5.079 trillion, with monthly targets of N423 billion and quarterly targets of N1.369 billion.
However, Mr. Adeniyi pointed out that achieving these targets is becoming increasingly difficult due to the ban on carbonated drinks, which has led to a substantial number of seizures by the agency.
In the first quarter of 2024 alone, the NCS recorded 468 seizures worth N1.9 trillion, many of which were related to carbonated drinks.
“The ban on carbonated drinks is affecting our revenue generation capacity,” Mr. Adeniyi stated.
He further noted that the volume of cargoes entering the nation’s ports is another critical factor influencing the agency’s revenue.
“The reduction in the volume of cargoes coming into the nation’s ports has affected our revenue,” he added.
Despite these challenges, the NCS remains optimistic about meeting its projections for the second quarter of 2024, aiming to generate N3 billion by the end of June.
During the session, the issue of the cost of collection of revenue was also addressed. Mr. Adeniyi clarified that the omission of this cost from the documents submitted to the House Committee was intentional.
He reiterated that the Act establishing the NCS empowers it to collect 7% of the total revenue as the cost of collection.
The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Seidu Abdullahi, commended the NCS for its revenue generation efforts, noting that the agency had surpassed the expectations of the House and other revenue authorities.
However, he urged the NCS to carefully consider the implications of granting waivers to importers, stressing that any such waivers must provide significant benefits to the nation’s economy.
The dialogue highlighted the complex interplay between regulatory measures, such as the ban on carbonated drinks, and the revenue generation capabilities of critical government agencies like the NCS.
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