Reports that government revenue at the Kano Free Trade Zone was compromised have been denied by the Nigeria Customs Services Kano/Jigawa State Command.
The narrative according to command spokesperson Saidu Nuraddeen is false and disconnected from reality. As per Nuraddeen, the command has placed its officers strategically to guarantee careful handling of finished goods coming from any excise factories under its supervision or within the zone.
Customs officials at the zone were charged with conspiring with the Nigeria Export and Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) to commit crimes that cost the Federal Government billions of dollars in lost revenue.
But in an immediate reaction, the Command issued a statement in which it stated that the accusations made against it were limited to demonstrating a lack of knowledge about the services operations particularly about duties import and export procedures and the laws governing trade in the Free Trade Zone.
It quoted Dauda Chana the Commands Area Controller as saying that the allegations were baseless and absurd and intended to sabotage the Federal Government’s well-intentioned efforts to establish the Zone.
He claims that in contrast to the claims of revenue loss the command recorded N613369204. 81 between January and April of 2024 as opposed to N132436766. 00 in 2023 which it noted as a definite indication of an increase in revenue generation by the service.
Chana went on to say that NEPZA controls the zone operations and that NCS officers do not meddle with it unless there is a plan to export goods to Customs territory. This is because NEPZA makes sure that smuggling and duty evasion are prevented within all of its jurisdictions and records are kept to properly collect and calculate duties.
Manufacturing and production activities occur within the Free Trade Zone. The final output of these activities is completed goods that require payment of duties to be exported. So how does one determine that completed goods are being transported out of the zone either to Customs territory or without being paid a duty or receiving an unauthorized discount? Knowing that goods or raw materials sourced locally are duty-free both during exportation and importation is beneficial for the general public.
Let it also be noted that there are numerous steps in the clearance process and that each command has a unit tasked with inspecting cleared goods for anomalies after they have been cleared. This ensures that no officer can hide their actions because all the documentation supporting the events is complete and unaltered. This statement renders the accusation of compromise baseless.
Nonetheless, the Controller reaffirmed the Command’s pledge to support lawful trade without compromising national security particularly when it comes to matters affecting special economic zones such as the Kano Free Trade Zone.
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