The Nigeria Customs Service has commenced assessment of Customs duty and other charges on Textile materials currently seized in Kano.

The exercise being coordinated by a Special Task Force comprising operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is expected to rake inN10B revenue into government coffers.

The directive to collect duty on the textile products was given by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Inde Abdullahi, following consultations with the Federal Government and importers of the items.

The imported items are currently discharged in warehouses sealed by the Nigeria Customs Service in various areas of Kano metropolis.

In the first warehouse opened for the exercise, 14 importers turned up for assessment and duty payment for their textile items valued at about N1.5 billion in the first week. The importers were expected to pay a combined import duty of N373, 307, 242.16. The assessment also showed that the goods are liable to the following additional charges:

I. N26,569,253.73 for 7% surcharge

II. N14,243,212.64 for 1% CISS levy

III. N6,767,022.49 for 0.5% ETLS levy

IV. N59,154,231.65 for Textile levy

V. N95,527,905.15 for Value Added Tax

Total revenue payable on the first set of assessment stands at N576,161,369.17. Another set of assessment worth over N600m is pending on the outstanding textiles in the same warehouse.

The assessed items include 20,878 bales of printed African fabrics, 21,980 bales of high grade brocade materials, 6,127 bales of Lace materials, 554 bales of polyester materials and 30 rolls of curtail materials.

The Comptroller-General of Customs’ decision to allow the importers of the detained goods pay duty is based on recent fiscal policy review removing textile fabrics from import prohibition list The move is also expected to shore up Government revenue, which has witnessed a downturn in recent times.

Last month, 75 warehouses of assorted textile materials were sealed up in Kano by Customs anti-smuggling operatives, following months of undercover operations and activation of local and international intelligence networks. The warehouses were operated by foreign nationals using a handful of Nigerians as their guarantors.

In view of the organised nature of the smuggling syndicate, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Inde Abdullahi has called for closer inter Agency collaboration to curb the excesses of foreign economic saboteurs who break our laws with impunity.

•Photo shows Customs CG, Abdullahi Inde.