PAAR push up Customs’ revenue by 20% in 2014

Abullahi Babani, the Controller, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday said that PAAR scheme had increased revenues by 20 per cent in 2014.

He said there was tremendous improvement on the revenue in the current year, considering the economic situation in the country when compared to the performance of NCS in 2013.

Babani explained that PAAR was the new system of Destination Inspection (DI) which transferred the assignment from the service providers to the NCS in December 2013.

The controller added that

the service had been able to block all the potential areas of revenue leakages through PAAR system and improved on revenue collection.

“There is a tremendous improvement in the revenue when you compare our performance in 2014 as against 2013; we have recorded over 20 per cent in revenue collection.

“When you look at most of the economic fundamentals, we are having downward turn because of insecurity and other issues which have had impacts on our ability to collect the revenue we are to collect.

“But because the system has been able to block all the potential areas of revenue leakages, we have been able to improve on our revenue collection,” he said.

Babani stated that the service would not have been able to get 80 per cent of what it collected in 2013 if it was using the old system of destination inspection called “Risk Assessment Report”.

According to him, “we strongly believe that if we were using the RAR system of the service providers in 2014, we wouldn’t have been able to recover up to the amount collected in 2013”.

The controller said the transfer of DI to customs had enabled the Federal Government to save about 25 million dollars monthly, being the amount that would have been paid to service providers.

He stated that the service would be able to hit a trillion revenue collections for the first time under PAAR regime, adding that the service would not have made the mark under RAR regime.

“All we do in trying to succeed is that we are strengthening our internal control mechanism to block all the potential leakages to enhance revenue collection.

“But the fact of the matter as at today is that Federal Government does not pay any service provider for these services; it is NCS that is delivering these services on behalf of the government.

“So there is saving in that regard and as I have told you earlier on, we have recorded over 20 per cent increment in the revenue.

“So we will be able to hit a trillion revenue collections under the PAAR regime which has not happened under the old regime.

“You can only appreciate the contribution that PAAR is making when you look at the economic fundamentals.”

According to Babani, the service is using more of professionalism to be able to get our revenue valuation and classification correctly which is fundamental basis for raising assessments.

“So if you must make correct assessment, you should be able to get your valuation right; you should be able to get your classification right.

“You have to look at the volume of the import which is completely outside customs control; it is based on the economic performance and the way people want to import.

“The classification and the rate of duty you apply and your ability to apply the correct rate of duty depends on how prepared you are professionally,” he said.

(NAN)