The Customs Area Comptroller (CAC) of the Ports Terminals and Multi-services Limited (PTML),Mahmud Nuhu, at the weekend, issued strong warnings against deliberate agents false declarations, stressing that anyone caught henceforth would face the full wrath of the law.The Customs Comptroller issued the warnings in Lagos, expressing dissatisfaction towards importers and agents insincerity in declarations which result in the short-changing of revenue payable to the Federal Government.Importers and their agents should give us the appropriate list of goods in their containers, so that we can avoid this issue of false declaration when physical examinations are being done. The reverse is the case, as they try to play smart on the officers he observed, highlighting that it was such dishonesty that had compelled the Service to emphasize the 100 percent physical examination, despite its attendant cost on avoidable delays.He noted that while in several cases, instances of false declaration could be traceable to pure human errors or sheer ignorance by agents, the command was getting tired of the increasing occurrences of deliberate attempts by some importers and agents to give false declaration all in the bid to avoid paying correct customs duty on their imported goods, highlighting that there were even instances when dutiable goods were brought in and branded as personal effects.We understand when goods are of personal effects, but what we have come to experience is that some of their trade goods are turned in as personal effects so that duty will not be paid on such goods. It is bad luck for us, if such goods escaped detection, as we will not be getting our own revenue he explained further.Though he declined to be exact in terms of what his command had generated, Nuhu said he was glad to note that his command was on course, especially within the past three months, albeit with some little hiccups here and there,The Federal Government expects the Service to generate a certain amount of revenue; and we have been trying our best to keep up with the pace. We have met our target in the month of March and we still hope to do our possible best in the next couple of months, he indicated, noting that the 48 hour cargo clearance had been very effective at the PTML command, as all other agencies attached to them, especially in the area of physical examination of cargo at the port have fully supported them.The 48 hour cargo clearance is achieved in this command and that is why we have so many importers coming to our port since it takes them lesser time to clear their cargoes he posited, adding that he was glad that the one stop shop structure of cargo examination was being fully implemented in the command as all government agencies expected to be available during cargo examination are doing so religiously.Only one examination is done and everybody who is supposed to be there is there. I will tell you here, that the one stop shop physical examination is effective. If there is any place where it has been effective, it is here, he confirmed, enjoining importers and agents to sustain their cooperation with all agencies at the ports, so that the present hitch free cargo clearing regime would be maintained.
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