Senate Clears Nigeria Customs of N62.2bn Infraction, Cites Levy Misclassification

Nigeria's Senate Public Accounts Committee has exonerated the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from allegations of under-remitting N62.2 billion. The committee concluded that the funds in question were statutory levies collected by Customs on behalf of various government agencies and were therefore not intended for remittance into the Federation Account.

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The under-remittance of N62.2 billion levelled against Customs in the 2019 audit report was wrongly arrived at through misclassification of levies collected.

The decision came after an extensive hearing where the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, addressed 77 audit queries raised against the service in the 2019 and 2020 audit reports. The disputed N62.2 billion arose from the 2019 audit report, which indicated that Customs collected N691.242 billion but remitted only N629.23 billion, flagging the difference as an unremitted amount.

Dr. Adeniyi explained to the lawmakers that the auditor-general's report had misclassified certain levies. He clarified that while some levies are indeed remitted to the Federation Account, others, such as those on local production of wheat, textiles, and wines, are collected for specific designated agencies and do not fall under the Federation Account. He asserted that the N62 billion difference was entirely composed of such levies.

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While most of the levies are to be collected and remitted into the Federation Account, others, like the ones on local production of wheat, textiles, and wines, do not go into the Federation Account, the totality of which accounted for the alleged unremitted N62.2 billion.

The Senate panel, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, also resolved to establish a reconciliation committee. This committee, comprising representatives from the senate panel, the Auditor-General’s Office, and the NCS, will work to review and reconcile the remaining 76 audit queries before any further legislative action is taken. This move effectively addresses one of the most significant audit allegations against the customs service.

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When we read through most of the queries, a good number of them were mixed up either by miscalculation or misclassification. The N62 billion are all levies and do not go to the Federation Account.