The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), yesterday, announced that it had surpassed its half-year revenue target of N2.54 trillion by eight per cent, and collected a total of N2.74 trillion.

The scorecard marks a milestone for the agency, demonstrating its commitment to excellence and its role in supporting the Federal Government’s revenue generation efforts.

The NCS attributed the feat to its strategic initiatives, including the e-auction platform, which generated over N1.34 billion, and the 90-day duty payment window for uncustomed vehicles, which added N4.37 billion.

Its Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, in a statement, commended officers and men of the service for their hard work and commitment to achieving the milestone.

He said: “NCS has achieved remarkable success in the first half of 2024. With a half-year revenue target of N2.54 trillion, the Service has collected N2.74 trillion, surpassing the target by eight per cent and marking a 127 per cent increase over the previous year’s revenue.

N1.395 trillion was collected for the second quarter, exceeding the quarterly target by 10 per cent, and representing a 131 per cent increase over Q2 2023.

The CG, in the statement issued by Customs’ National Public Relations Officer, Abdullah Maiwada, noted that despite the achievements, the organisation faced several challenges in the first six months of this year, including significant fluctuations in exchange rate, lower volume of transactions, low compliance levels among importers and exporters, and periodic downtime.

He added: “These challenges impacted the consistency of revenue collection and overall operational efficiency.

To address these challenges and enhance revenue collection, the NCS implemented several strategies, including real-time system auditing, post-clearance audits, verification of documents for the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), ensuring compliance with import guidelines, and the implementation of a pilot test for the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) scheme.”