The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have admitted that they have faced challenges in a bid to take over the Destination Inspection Service from contracted Scanning Service Providers (SSPs) as directed by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Spokesman of the Service, Wale Adeniyi, who appeared on Channels Television’s Business Morning, however said that the Service was “coping very well and very adequately.”
He explained that having taken over the responsibility towards December, an “upbeat period” and considering the volume of “importation for Christmas and New Year”, they “were able to cope with all the challenges in volume, challenges of putting a new system in place and challenges of mobilising the stakeholders behind the new scheme”.
Also speaking on the programme, a member of the Freight Forwarders Group at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ikenna Nwosu, lauded the decision by the Federal Government to implement the policy, adding that the “organised private sector is fully in support of it” and are “partnering the customs to see it work.”
He commended the Nigeria Customs Service for taking over the scheme, which used to be handled by three agencies, admitting that “that is a lot of responsibility”.
He however berated the deluge of applications, noting that it forms a major part of the challenges the Customs Service faces in executing the project.
Due to the cumbersome nature of signing the application for the release of containers, Mr Nwosu joined other members of the organised private sector to call for an electronic application.
“As a key enabler of the process, rather than have importers accrue demurrage to their cargo, the Customs have proved that importers can take pre-release of their cargo by paying duty based on their invoices; which is what is on now.
“They made some complains that that process is a bit drawn out, sometimes there are delays because the Area Commander is one man; he has to sign these papers”, adding that “the recommendations is that perhaps the Customs should think of making that application process electronic.”
Reacting, Mr Adeniyi, who was joining from the Abuja studios of Channels Television, explained that the Service has already implemented the electronic application process in the PAL System, insisting that “there is no point trying to replicate what we have done in PAL, which is the short gap measures that we have taken to address an emergency situation of congestion.”
He further noted that people carrying invoices to be checked and getting duties paid is a practical measure the Service has taken, revealing that those can be rectified later, if it is higher or lower.
