The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has decided to revise the revenue target for 2024, elevating it from the initial N5 trillion proposed by the NCS to a new goal of N6 trillion.
During a session in Abuja on Monday, Rep. Abubakar Bitchi, the committee’s chairman, urged Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General of NCS, to contemplate an increase in the targeted revenue. Bitchi expressed the committee’s satisfaction if the NCS could aim for N6 trillion in revenue for the fiscal year 2024.
Emphasizing the importance of boosting revenue to fulfill President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, Bitchi acknowledged the commendable nature of the 2024 appropriation bill. However, he emphasized that the success of the proposal hinged on adequate funding to meet the N27.5 trillion target.
In response, CG Adeniyi conveyed optimism about achieving the N6 trillion revenue goal in 2024. He suggested that revisiting concession grants by the Federal Government in 2024 could facilitate reaching this target, emphasizing the significance of a new law to address various issues affecting revenue generation.
Adeniyi expressed discontent with the current situation of waivers, noting that addressing this matter could contribute significantly to achieving the N6 trillion target. He highlighted the NCS’s internal audit, revealing over N11 billion realized from examining uncleared goods, indicating the presence of untapped revenue in goods awaiting clearance.
Touching on the import duty exception, Adeniyi clarified that it falls under presidential authority, overseen by the minister of finance. He disclosed a loss of N1.8 trillion to Import Duty Exception Certificates (IDEC) in 2023, with excise accounting for 18 percent of the total revenue for the same year.