The Nigeria Customs Service has said that it has stopped the collection of excise duty on made-in -Nigeria goods, except cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
This is even as the service yesterday took its anti-smuggling sensitization and awareness to the Yaba College of Technology where seasoned Customs officials took time to educate the students on entrepreneurship and the dangers associated with smuggling.
Speaking at the programme tagged 'Entrepreneurship Development Programme and Anti-Smuggling Sensitization Workshop', Zonal Coordinator of Zone 'A' of Customs, Assistant Comptroller General, Kaycee Ekekezie urged students to report all suspected smuggling activities to the service.
The Zonal Coordinator, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller in charge of Enforcement at Tin Can Island Port, Deputy Comptroller Dera Nnadi explained that though the Customs and Excise Management Act provides that goods manufactured in factories in Nigeria should pay excise duty, Customs has limited it to only cigarettes and alcohol.
He said the government considers tobacco and cigarette as extra luxury.
He said; "Our tax does not stop on anything coming in from the border, even when you manufacture anything inside factories; we collect excise tax from them. But we have stopped collecting excise tax on goods that are very common and are for daily use, we collect excise tax on tobacco and cigarette because we consider them extra luxury"
"In those days, a customs officer is posted to factories where they produce drinks and they collect tax, but even though we don't collect tax on them again, you must get license from Customs before establishing your factory" he said.
Ekekezie also took time to disabuse the mind of the students on some general myth about the Customs officers. He explained that Customs does not only collect tax, but also facilitate trade.
On the recent killing of a traveller by Customs Federal Operations Unit (FOU) at Sagamu, Ogun State, he said that by virtue of section 158 of the Customs and Excise Management Act, Customs can operate anywhere.
He said Customs is the only security agency in the world that can come to individuals personal house and search it without any warrant.
"Most of us buy cars and ask why should customs stop me and request for my Customs paper, it is obligatory for you to pay tax on that car because it is the money generated that government use to equip the military and the police"
"Whenever you encounter a smuggler, you have a responsibility to inform Customs because the money Customs would collect from that smuggler will go a long way in providing other services including for Yaba Tech".
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