ABUJA: As Hameen Ali (rtd), the newly appointed Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) settles down to business, industry analysts who took turns to assess the operations of the Service in the ports say the new helmsman needs to concentrate on full process automation, as well as the removal of 100 percent manual inspection of containers.
The analysts say physical examination of containers is slow and cumbersome and has caused importers huge losses in time and money, by way of delayed clearance. They further add that government is likewise losing revenue as importers are diverting their cargoes to ports in neighbouring countries.
Containers which should ordinarily be cleared in seven days, now take close to a month due to the delays.
A recent survey on Nigeria’s seaports conducted by the National Freight Information and Transport Hub (NAFITH), an Iranian based company, affirms that Nigerian ports need a paperless Customs; e-payment of Customs duty; e-container loading list; electronic risk-based inspection; connecting other government agencies under one platform and e-permit exchange among operators, to reduce cost for importers.
The survey also emphasised that Customs and other port operators need to adopt the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) single window model, which is electronically powered, and has been tested in ports in the Western world.
“It is worrisome that while cargo volume has doubled over the past 10 years, Customs documentation and clearance processes have remained the same and largely manual. Therefore, the new Customs’ boss must understand the role of automated clearing systems which will facilitate trade and cargo clearance, as well as expunge the discretionary powers of Customs officers through which corruption thrives,” the Ships and Ports report observed.
