The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has rejected the N1.33 trillion target revenue by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for the 2022 fiscal year, saying the amount is too low.
The committee said this at its 2022 to 2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) interactive session with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Mr Leke Abejide said the exchange rate for 2021 was N381 to a dollar and the targeted revenue generation was N1.6 trillion, adding that the service should factor in the devaluation of the naira and increase their target to N2 trillion.
The lawmaker said the service would still surpass an upward review target, adding that the new Finance Act had empowered the service to generate more revenue from alcoholic beverages and tobacco as against 2021.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr James Faleke, said that at the beginning of every year, the Budget Office takes a critical look at expected revenue generation of the country.
He said that was done to know the required funds and make adequate preparation for borrowing, noting that if more revenue was generated, the amount of money to be borrowed would reduce.
Earlier, the Comptroller-General of Customs, rtd Col. Hameed Ali, told the committee that the service proposed to generate the sum of N1.33 trillion in 2022, a figure that did not go down well with the House of Representatives.