Senate Blames Customs, Immigration for N7 trillion Annual Smuggled Goods

Tue, Jul 18, 2017 | By publisher


Business

THE Senate has blamed the Nigeria Customs Service and Immigration Service for lapses leading to N7 trillion goods allegedly smuggled into the country yearly.

The colossal loss of revenue was put on the front burner during a public hearing conducted by the Senate committee on customs, excise and tariff in Abuja on Monday, July 17.

Hope Uzodinma, chairman of the Senate committee, said the committee was to carry out a holistic probe on the operations of the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, CISS, ministries, departments and agencies of government and further identify the factors escalating the rate of smuggling of imported goods into the country and, to recommend appropriate penalties.

Besides, Uzodinma alleged that 282 vessels were missing at the various terminals of the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA, between 2010 and 2016.

In the same vein, Dino Melaye, a senator from Kogi State, took a swipe on the operatives of the Nigeria Customs and Immigration, alleging that they were collaborators in the smuggling menace as they could not convincingly distance themselves from the illegal operations of the importers whose warehouses are known to them and scattered everywhere in different cities of the nation.

Indeed, the World Bank in a recent report on smuggling in the country claimed that $5 billion and $15 billion worth of goods are smuggled yearly through the Benin Republic and seaports respectively.

But the report did not state the loss of revenue from the international airports.

—  Jul 18, 2017 @ 11:30 GMT

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