Customs Generates $937m On Sea-bound Export In 3 Months At LilyPond Export Command

Management of the Lilypond Export Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that the command has successfully generated $937 million being duty payment value realised on cargo shipment between June and September this year.

The command controller, Ajibola Odusanya disclosed this while speaking with newsmen when top members of management of an Ogun State-based international magazine, Great Achievers Magazine, led by its publisher, Yomi Ogunsanu paid a courtesy call on the command.

Odusanya’s disclosure was also coming on the heels of his call on Nigerian farmers of the various commodities to take advantage of the grouping system still existing in the nation’s export promotion policies to export their commodities towards enabling them to earn income in foreign currencies.

Attributing the high revenue realised in the 3rd quarter of 2024 to an enhanced efficiency, following the consolidation of export seats at the Lilypond Export Command (LEXC), the controller further disclosed that the tonnage of exported goods surged by 368.02 percent from 86,783.93 metric tons to 405,979,72 metric tons, thus reflecting a significant scaling up of export processing capacity at LEXC.

“Within April and June 2024, the command processed 2,488 containers with duty paid value of about US$184 million. Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) revenue collection recorded an extraordinary growth of 733. 22 percent, climbing from N640,198,812.18 to N5,333,343,692.86.

“This growth highlights the consolidation’s positive impact on revenue generation through improved tracking and proper documentation of export activities.

“The duty paid on exports of previously imported goods increased by 359.12 percent, from N29,626,178 to N136,042,360.

“Lilypond Export Command has yielded significant gains, reflecting in the impressive increases across the key export metrics. The primary benefit was the elimination of bureaucratic bottlenecks that previously hindered smooth export processes.

“The centralisation of export operations has allowed for faster processing times for export documentation, improved compliance with NCS guidelines and regulations, Higher revenue collection, and a more transparent and traceable export value chain.

“Our command only deals with exports; exports that are sea-bound. Any export that is meant to be loaded in the container before leaving the country must be processed in our command, we are not revenue generation, but trade facilitation.”