Revenue target of N12 trillion will overstretch Customs in 2025 – SEREC

Comptroller General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi

The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has posited that officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) would be overstretched to meet the ambitious 2025 revenue target of N12 trillion in view of prevailing unfavourable trade policies in the country.

SEREC noted that in spite of unimaginable drop in the cargo volumes in 2024, the Customs still met and surpassed the N5.07 trillion target before the year ended.

The Centre, however, wondered how the Customs in 2025 would achieve this N12 trillion feat, which is double of 2024, when the dire economic situation is still pounding the sector.

This position was contained in a statement released by the Head of Research at SEREC, Fwdr Eugene Nweke Rff.

According to the statement, the SEREC makes bold to state that the Nigeria Customs Service revenue target of ₦12trillion for 2025 is quite ambitious and a stretch considering the current state of the economy, especially in the face of heightened trade policy uncertainties, leading to dwindling imports and exports activities, low ship calls to ports, and lower cargo throughputs impacting on imports volumes, etc. Indeed, it is challenging to really project how the NCS intends to achieve this target.

Take note that, the ever-increasing foreign exchange regime and harsh trading environment are additional hurdles that could hinder the NCS progress.

It is worth noting that, ahead of schedule, the NCS did achieve a significant milestone in 2024, generating a revenue of ₦5.07trillion and at last minute reported as closing it up to ₦6.105trillion.

However, this milestone was largely due to the NCS strategic engagements and collaborative efforts with stakeholders, as well as improved processes and modernized systems.

How to achieve N12 trillion target
To reach the new target, they would need to significantly scale up their efforts and find ways to mitigate the challenges posed by the current economic environment, in addition to blocking leakages via the deployment of modern technologies.

Obvious damaging impact on economy
Obviously, the aggressive pursuit of this revenue target in the year 2025 could have a negative impact on the trade environment and the economy as a whole. It may lead to increased scrutiny and harassment of importers and exporters, which could further discourage trade and investment, especially where compliant level is at a single digit increase.

Additionally, the focus on revenue generation could divert attention away from other important aspects of customs operations, such as trade facilitation and enforcement of customs regulations.

The Way out
Overall, while the NCS revenue target is ambitious, it is essential to consider the potential consequences of aggressively pursuing it. A more balanced approach that takes into account the current economic realities and the need for trade facilitation and enforcement would be more effective in the long run.