By Ifeyinwa Obi

The Nigeria Customs Service  said it has commenced assessment of Customs duty and other charges on textile materials currently in detention in Kano, even as the  exercise coordinated by a Special Task Force comprising operatives of the NCS and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC,  is expected to rake  in N10b billion revenue into government coffers.

In a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Wale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Inde Abdullahi, was quoted to have given the directive to collect  duty on the textile products.

The directive, Dikko said came after  consultations with the Federal Government  and importers of the items. The imported items are currently discharged in warehouses sealed by the Service in various areas of Kano metropolis.

He said: ‘’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:  N26,569,253.73 for 7% surcharge; N14,243,212.64 for 1% CISS levy; N6,767,022.49 for 0.5% ETLS levy; N59,154,231.65 for Textile levy; and N95,527,905.15 for Value Added Tax.