The Nigerian custom salary for its officers is paid according to ranks as with other paramilitary agencies in the country like immigrations, civil defence and the Federal Road Safety Corps.
With the new minimum wage which was increased from N18,000 to N30,000, we hope to see this figures also added to the salaries of custom officers in Nigeria.
Recruitment into the Nigerian customs service is an annual exercise and is very competitive. Getting a job as a custom officer in Nigeria is also a daunting task as its alleged that senators, governors, politicians and high ranking officers in the NCS prefer putting their candidates as opposed to recruiting on merit.
In this post, we shall provide information on Nigerian customs ranks and salary structure, its roles and allowances accrued to its officers.
Roles & Functions of Nigeria Custom Service
(NCS) is an independent agency under the supervisory oversight of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance. This body is saddled with the responsibility of collecting the customs revenue and anti-smuggling efforts.
For some years, the Nigeria Customs Service has fulfilled its many statutory responsibilities which sees that the process of speedy delivery of goods and services is done whilst maintaining an effective control of checkmating the necessary demands of the ever growing international trade.
However, here are some of the major roles and functions of the NCS:
- Collection of Revenue (Import /Excise Duties & other Taxes /Levies) and accounting for same;
- Anti-Smuggling activities;
- Security functions;
- Generating statistics for planning and Budgetary purposes;
- Monitoring Foreign Exchange utilisation etc;
- Engaging in Research, Planning and Enforcement of Fiscal Policies of Government;
- Manifest processing;
- Licensing and registration of Customs Agents;
- Registration and designation of collecting banks; and
- Working in collaboration with other government agencies in all approved ports and border station
The NCS like other paramilitay bodies experience their own fair share of challenges. Due to lack of recruiting more uniformed officers, economic crime, terrorism, money laundering, violation of property rights, smuggling of toxic and hazardous items that poses threat to life have been identified as just a few that the custom service are facing.
If you had ordered anything from abroad, your goods must have had a contact with the Nigerian Customs. You probably wouldn’t know since those that shipped it must settle first with the grey uniform men of the customs at the port.
However, when you are into importation when you are actively involved then your meeting and personnel of the Nigerian Customs will become more frequent.
Like I stated earlier, while they help the Nigerian Federal Government in generating revenue through moneys generated from exported and imported goods, they also help combat smuggling.
Due to the money available in this government parastatal, a lot of people are interested in getting a job in the Nigerian custom service and would also want to know the amount they could make working for Nigeria Customs.
The money one could make from working with customs depends on the salary structure. However, this is only a part of the puzzle, there is also allowance as well as other lawful and unlawful (which is strongly advised against) means of money making. Let take a look at the Nigeria custom allowances before their salary scale.
Allowances In Nigerian Customs
The allowances listed below are available in the Nigeria Customs Service. This however does not mean all persons working with it is entitled to all of it.
While some goes to every personnel, some are tailored toward some personnel due to their duties and ranks. For example, rent allowance only goes to officers not provided accommodation by the Nigerian Government.
The allowance include:
- Utility allowance
- Hazard allowance
- House maintenance allowance
- Uniform maintenance allowance
- General Services allowance
- Torchlight allowance
- Detective allowance.
- Hardiness allowance
- Plain-Cloth allowance
- Furniture allowance
- Personal Servant
The Nigeria Customs Salary Scale
Just like other para-military bodies in Nigeria, the new salary structure for Para-military personnel is known as the Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), which sees an increase in basic salary and allowances for Nigerian customs officers and all Para-military organizations due to the minimum wage increment.
According to this salary, the least paid customs officer is the Inspector who earns ₦27, 779 monthly and is entitled to an additional ₦4,000 monthly if he/she is not provided with accommodation.
On average, a custom officer earns ₦75,000 as monthly salary and about ₦1,000,000 per annum. Usually, pay depends on level in the service and education.
The highest salary is received by the Controller-General of Customs, the second highest goes to the Deputy Controller Generals, and Assistant Controller Generals in that order.
With the new minimum wage increase, we are sure that officers of customs service will benefit greatly as their salaries will also be increased.
| NCS Ranks | NCS Monthly Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Comptroller General | ₦2,870,000 – ₦2,500,000 |
| Deputy Comptroller General | ₦2,570,000 – ₦2,480,000 |
| Assistant Comptroller General | ₦2,470,000 – ₦2,280,000 |
| Comptrollers | ₦2,070,000 – ₦1,880,000 |
| Deputy Comptrollers | ₦1,770,000 – ₦1,580,000 |
| Assistant Comptrollers | ₦1,570,000 – ₦1,480,000 |
| Chief Superintendent Customs Officer | ₦1,370,000 – ₦1,280,000 |
| Deputy Superintendent Customs Officer | ₦1,270,000 – ₦1,180,000 |
| Assistant Superintendent of Customs I & II | ₦1,070,000 – ₦980,000 |
| Inspector of Customs | ₦970,000 – ₦880,000 |
| Assistant Inspector of Customs | ₦870,000 – ₦780,000 |
| Customs Assistant | ₦770,000 – ₦680,000 |
List of Ranks in Nigerian Customs Service
The ranking of officers in the Nigerian Customs Service is quite different from what is obtainable in other para-military organizations in Nigeria. The salary structure of Nigerian customs also depends on the level of the officer. In case you want to start a career or get recruited into the Nigerian customs, it is better you know all about the ranks structure of the Nigerian Customs Service which will guide you in case of are asked during an interview.
The highest ranking officer in the NCS is the Comptroller-General while the Deputy Comptrollers-Generals are next in line. Here is a list of Nigeria custom ranks from highest to lowest (senior officers):
- Comptroller-General
- Deputy Comptroller-Generals
- Assistant Comptroller-Generals
- Comptrollers
- Deputy Comptroller
- Assistant Comptroller
- Chief Superintendent Customs Officer
- Deputy Superintendent Customs Officer
- Assistant Superintendent of Customs I
- Assistant Superintendent of Customs II
- Inspector of Customs
- Assistant Inspector of Customs
- Customs Assistant
Nigerian Customs Organization Structure
According to the official website of the Nigerian Customs service, the highest rank in the Nigeria Customs Service is the Comptroller-General who heads the activities of the service and he/she is the highest paid in the service. He is assisted by six (6) Deputy Comptrollers-Generals (second in command in the ranking of the Nigerian customs) heading the departments as follows:
- Finance Administration and Technical Service
- Tariff & Trade
- Enforcement, Investigation, and Inspection
- Strategic Research & Policy
- Human Resource Development
- Excise, FTZ and Industrial Incentives.
After the Deputy Comptroller-Generals, next in the hierarchy of ranks in the Nigerian Customs is the Assistant Comptroller-Generals heading each division under them followed by the Comptrollers who sees over affairs of each unit under these divisions. ACG (Headquarters) reports directly to the Comptroller-General along with the heads of some Special Units in addition to 4 Assistant-Comptroller-General (ACG) in the zones that coordinate the area commands under their respective jurisdictions.
The picture below clearly shows you the ranks/organisational structure of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS)