Nigeria Customs Service – Advent Cable Network Nigeria

Customs Confirms 30 Out Of 65 Verified Private Jets Are Liable To Pay Required Duties

ACNN ADMIN — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 13:07:44 +0000

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says 30 out of 65 private airplanes verified so far are liable to pay required duties to the Federal Government.

The Customs Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah, made this known while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Attah explained that some of these airplanes came into the country by ‘Temporary Importation’ agreement, which he said allowed them to bring the jets without payment because it was secured by bond.

He said thereafter many of them failed to pay on the expiration of the agreement which necessitated the verification.

He stated with this exercise, more revenue would accrue to the Federal Government because those who failed to adhere to the agreement would be made to pay the duties.

The Customs’ spokesperson said the verification had also given an opportunity to the service to clearly differentiate those airplanes in the country that were on commercial operations from those owned and used for private purposes.

Attah restated that the verification was not meant to embarrass anybody but to ensure that the right or required duties were paid to the government by the owners of these private airplanes.

He further disclosed that with the impact of the first two weeks extension, the service had again given another two weeks which commenced from Monday, July 26 to Friday, August 6.

“Considering the rising number of compliance and the number of jets that are liable for payment of duties as well as indications by those people to do so, the Comptroller- General has again graciously given them another two weeks.

“And also, it will ensure every collectable revenue is collected into the coffers of the Federal Government.

Source: Nigerian Tribune

1,387 Cartons of Tramadol in Rivers Inspected By Customs

ACNN ADMIN — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:57:15 +0000

The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted 1,387 cartons of Tramadol tablets concealed inside 1,000 cartons of ceramic tiles in Rivers.

Mrs Ifeoma Ojukwu, the spokesperson for the Area II Command, Onne Port in Rivers, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.

Ojukwu said that the seizure was made possible with help from international partners.

Ojukwu quoted the Area Comptroller, Auwal Mohammed, as saying the “prohibited items were found in a 1×40 feet container with registration number MRKU0764717.

“The drugs were packed in a 120mg capsule and stored inside 20 sachets per pack, totalling 18 packs per carton.

“We discovered that the same carton that is used to package the ceramic tiles was also used to package the tramadol 120mg capsules.

“A total of 1, 387 cartons of prohibited tramadol tablets were concealed with 1,000 cartons of ceramic tiles.

“The drugs were picked through intelligence gathering following a tip-off from an international security network,” Mohammed said.

The Comptroller said the importer of the banned substance, agent and their collaborators would soon be prosecuted.

He said the command had begun a physical examination of the seized goods to enable investigators to conduct a thorough job on the consignment.

According to him, the command will not succumb to any external pressure to hurry its investigation without following the laid down procedures.

“Therefore, every importer should know that making unclear or false electronic declarations does not mean they will have an easy way out with their consignment.

“All Customs officers under my watch will continue to abide by the law as well as shun any form of compromise,” he said. (NAN)

Source: PUNCH

Customs Confirms Clash Between Smugglers, Officers In Iseyin

ACNN ADMIN — Sat, 15 May 2021 17:58:31 +0000

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has confirmed the clash between some of its officers and some smugglers in Iseyin.

Sources informed that the four people died as a result of gunshots sustained after customs officers engaged smugglers in the ugly incident which occurred Thursday afternoon when some residents were still celebrating the Eld-Fitri festival.

The Customs’s officers allegedly began to shoot sporadically after intercepting smuggled goods coming through the borders.

Some of the residents and groups in the town had condemned the action of the customs officers.

But, Customs in its reaction to the incident, argued that officers who were on routine patrol intercepted two Nissan Pathfinder SUV vehicles fully loaded with smuggled foreign parboiled rice at Iseyin.

Spokesman of NCS, Zone A, Theophilus Duniya in a statement made available to the press on Friday, explained that the mob attacked the officers with dangerous weapons which led to the infliction of serious injuries on two officers.

“At about 1500 hours of Thursday, 13th May 2021 some daredevil smugglers mobilized themselves with the help of some thugs; attacked a patrol team serving with Federal Operations Unit Zone A, who were on lawful duty at Iseyin.

“The officers who were on routine patrol intercepted two Nissan Pathfinder SUV vehicles fully loaded with smuggled foreign parboiled rice at Iseyin. Sequel to the interception, the officers were attacked by a mob who were mobilized by the smugglers.

“The mob attacked the officers with dangerous weapons which led to the infliction of serious injuries on two officers. In an attempt to abduct one of the officers who was brutally attacked.

“The assailants had taken the injured officer with his rifle before his team members acted in self-defence, shot at his suspected abductors leading to the death of three of them before he was rescued and taken for immediate medical attention.

“The officers were able to successfully evacuate the intercepted smuggled rice, while the injured officers are currently receiving treatment.

CUSTOMS SEIZE 497,279 BAGS OF RICE IN 2 YEARS

ACNN NEWS — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 10:56:52 +0000

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has seized 497,279 bags of imported rice between 2015 and August, 2017 with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N3.8 billion.

The Comptroller-General of the service, retired Col. Hameed Ali, disclosed this in a document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.

Ali said that 90,073 bags of rice were seized in 2015 with DPV of N693 million while 280,109 bags of rice were impounded in 2016 with DPV of N2.156 billion.

He added that between January and August 2017, no fewer than 127,097 bags of rice were seized with DPV of N978 million.

“From January to March this year, about four enterprises registered with Tinapa Free Trade Zone (FTZ) Calabar in Cross River State syndicated the importation of 533 containers of rice.

He said the containers loaded with 299,564 bags of rice were brought into the free zone through Onne Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers.

“Certainly, this rice cannot be consumed within Tinapa and there is no value added through further processing as to bring it to Nigerian territory.

“It took the Nigeria Customs Service a big battle with the importers and Tinapa authorities to compel them to re-export it out of Nigeria.

“As at Sept. 19, this year, 299 containers were re-exported.

“If this is to be allowed, it has the potential of undermining the food security policy of the Federal Government.

“With the attendant consequence of driving all the industries in the chain of production out of business, primarily the local farmers and rice millers,” Ali said.

He said that in the past, the Federal Government had introduced policies like Operation Feed the Nation and Green Revolution to ensure food sufficiency.

He added that the major cause of failure of these policies was smuggling.

According to him, it is the realisation of this that made the Federal Government to ban the importation of rice through the land borders.

“The ban of rice importation through the land borders has made the task of fighting smuggling by the NCS more challenging.

“Because major rice importers in the country have decided to shun the use of Nigerian ports and now divert their cargo to Cotonou where they bring it into Nigeria in trickles,” he said.