New Customs boss faces automation, physical inspection challenge at ports

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.

According to Ships and Ports, Customs, as the agency responsible for collecting and safeguarding import, export and excise duties and for controlling the flow of goods, cannot continue to operate a manual process in inspecting and documenting trade volume of about 90 million metric tonnes, valued at over N5 trillion annually.

BusinessDay search reveals that it is only physical examination of cargo that is carried out in Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports, due to the frequent breakdown of scanning machines, and this delays cargo clearing. This development results in long queues of yet to be examined containers at port, due to the volume of cargoes that passes through both ports.

Tony Anakebe, renowned maritime analyst, who blamed the delay in cargo clearance on 100 percent physical examination by Customs and the inability of operators to imbibe automated clearing procedures, said that the new Customs boss must consider the option of putting the scanning equipment in proper condition to reduce the pains of importers and their agents.

Anakebe observed that relying on 100 percent on physical examination has hiked the cost of doing business at the port, as importers now spend a lot of money paying demurrage to shipping companies and storage charges to terminal operators. He pointed out that effective scanning of imports is the major task before the new Customs boss.

Emma Nwabunwanne, a Lagos based importer, says automation of cargo clearance processes, will help in putting proper logistics control in place to fast-track cargo clearance, and that there is a need to facilitate trade, in line with international best practices, to help reduce the pains of importers and their agents.

“The Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) platform, created by the Service must also be strengthened by addressing all the indentified challenges. This is because it is ironic for same the Customs that issued PAAR on consignments, to turn and query the document during clearing,” Nwabunwanne added.

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE