Finance Ministry Wants FIRS to Take Over Revenue Collection from Customs

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• Says revenue collection by customs a distraction to trade facilitation

The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning may have shocked the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as it said that the age long role of revenue collection by the Service should be taken away and given to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
This was as stakeholders gathered for a public hearing for the amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Amendment Bill by the National Assembly.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Aliyu Ahmed who spoke during the hearing said this was to ensure that revenue collection was unified and for the Customs Service to fully concentrate in the statutory responsibility of trade facilitation.
Ahmed argued that the single most important function of the Customs Service anywhere in the world was trade facilitation.
He added that in other climes, the best practice was in unifying revenue collection.
He added, :”But in the introduction of the Chairman, I hear him talk about revenue, collection of revenue. This is the secondary service of the Customs all over the world.
“Revenue collection by Customs is a distraction. The reason is that the main function of the Nigeria Customs Service is trade facilitation. But the trade facilitation has been pushed to the background because of the focus on revenue collection. In other climes, the best practice is moving towards unifying revenue collection.
“If we want to go that far, and achieve that best practice, our submission would be to move revenue to the Federal Inland Revenue Service so that Customs Service can really focus on trade facilitation function.”