The Kano/Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has refuted reports of compromising government revenue at the Kano Free Trade Zone.
Spokesperson of the command, Saidu Nuraddeen in a statement on Friday, described the story as untrue and far from the reality.
Nuraddeen said rather, the command has strategically positioned its officers to ensure due diligence in the management of finished products within the zone or from any of the excise factories under its watch.
Customs officers at the zone had been accused of conniving with Nigeria Export and Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) of illegalities leading to loss of billions in revenue due to the Federal Government.
However, in a swift response, the Command, in a statement pointed out that its accusers only succeeded in displaying ignorance about activities of the service, especially in the areas of Duty, Import and Export processes and the laws guiding trade activities in the FTZ.
It quoted the Area Controller of the Command, Dauda Chana, to have described the claims as unfounded, laughable and a deliberate mischief to undermine the good intention of the Federal Government for creating the Zone.
According to him, contrary to the allegations of revenue loss, the command recorded N613,369,204.81 between January-April 2024 as against N132,436,766.00 it recorded in 2023 which it noted as a clear indication of rise in revenue generation by the service.
Chana further explained that NEPZA regulates the zone’s activities, noting that unless there is an intention of exporting to Customs territory, NCS officers do not interfere with the zone as it ensures prevention of smuggling and duty evasion within all its areas of responsibility, adding that, records are taken for proper duty collection and calculation.
“In the Free Trade Zone, there are productions taking place, there are manufacturing taking place and the end product of all these are finished products and for these to go out, duties are paid. So how does anyone come to the conclusion that finished goods are being moved out of the zone without paying duty or given illegal discount or destined for Customs territory?
“It is also good for the public to know that goods or raw materials locally sourced are duty free as well as exportation.
“Let it also be on record that the process of clearance involves many stages and we even have a unit domiciled in every Command that check after clearance of goods cleared for anomalies, so no officer can connive because the documents are all intact to show what transpired. This makes the allegation of compromise baseless,” the statement stressed.
The Controller however reiterated the Command’s commitment to facilitate genuine trade without compromising government policy, especially as they affect special economic areas like the Kano Free Trade Zone.
