MANILA: Directorate General of Customs can pride itself of crediting the State coffers with a surplus FCFA 1.8 billion for the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. Information from the department reveals that FCFA 347.9 billion is the amount raised as against the projected FCFA 345.8 billion, giving an achievement rate of 101 per cent. The FCFA 347.9 billion recorded as at June 30, 2015 represents an increase in performance by 6 per cent as against FCFA 328.1 billion in 2014 whereby FCFA 319.9 billion was earmarked for mobilisation.
The Directorate General of Customs under the helm of Minette Libom Li Likeng however notes that the amount mobilized is void of the FCFA 19.4 billion that was expected to be collected as revenue from government departments benefitting from deductions at source. The challenge is therefore for customs to redouble efforts with the National Oil Refinery, SONARA, as one of the targets where uncollected customs revenue is evaluated at FCFA 13.7 billion. The Directorate General of Customs however regrets an accumulated debt of FCFA 33.1 billion from the company which according to the Director General of Customs could catapult the institution to an exceptional performance if the amount was duly collected.
Notwithstanding, Minette Libom Li Likeng, Director General notes that; “We will not be satisfied with this performance.” She and her team vowed to do better in the second half of the year to sustain the achievements and why not surpass the annual revenue target of FCFA 693 billion as in the 2015 Finance Law, with an increase of FCFA 55 billion from 2014.
