Sequel to Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s Executive Orders mandating a 24 hours operations in and around the ports, the Nigeria Customs Service has insisted that advanced cargo manifest by shipping line agencies must be submitted to it 7 days before the arrival of the vessel to the nation’s seaport.
Besides, the executive order on port 24 hours port operations also directed that import documents be reduced from 14 to 8 while that of export has been reduced from 10 to 7.
TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had on Thursday, May 18 signed three far-reaching executive orders expected to ease business, fast-track budget submission and promote made in Nigeria products.
Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by journalists under the aegis of Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hammed Ali (rtd) stated that the advance cargo manifest would enable the risk management profiled and separated on time before ship arrival.
In his words: “In order to achieve greater service delivery at the ports, there was the need to streamline the current import and export guidelines procedures.
Ali reiterated that “to achieve greater service delivery at our ports the department of home finance of the Federal Ministry of Finance revised Nigeria’s import and export guidelines streamlining the current procedures”
The new guidelines according to the Customs boss, would focus on some of the issues causing inefficiency and delay at the ports.
Ali who was represented by the Customs Area Controller, Ports and Terminal multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the service, Comptroller Aremu Morenike explained that some of the new guidelines would impact directly on the operations of officers and men at the ports.
Harping on the actualisation of 24hours ports operation, the customs boss maintained that the service is positioned to implement the executive order saying that the impediment to the attainment remains the integrity and compliance of the trading public in ensuring proper documentation and honest declaration.
He noted that the service remains the lead agency in cargo examination at the ports adding that under the new guidelines, cargo placement notice time for examination required by terminal operators would be reduced from the proposed 24 hours to a maximum 12 hours.
Ali further re-echoed that revised guideline requires the shipping lines to electronically transit advanced manifest to their consignments to the customs and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as soon as the vessel depart its last port of call,pointing out that such practices would promote risk management,profiling and cargo placement for examination.
“in line with World Bank recommendation,the Federal Ministry of Finance has directed that the import document be reduced from 14 to 8 and export is from 10 to 7”
“The Nigeria customs service now has the responsibility to coordinate the mandatory joint examination and sign off from to ensure that the interface between the trading public and the several regulatory agencies are reduced to the barest minimum”
“The Nigeria Customs Service joined other Ministries,Department Agencies (MDA’s) in making commitment towards the transformation of the business landscape in Nigeria as we focus on improving the Nigeria ranking in which we stood at 182 Trade Across Border particularly in the reduction of import and export time by up to 50% through strict adherence to international standard and practice”
There is no doubt that the Nigeria Customs Service has a pivotal role to play in our collective bid to entrench a more business friendly environment in Nigeria.
He added that the service has moved from manual long room procedures to automated ASYCUDA++ platform which supported the following electronic quintessential innovation and adaptation that have contributed tremendously to trade facilitation.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that as part of concrete efforts to ensure the implementation of the Executive Orders on the 24 hours operation mode, the NCS recently adopted a shift work schedule by its officials in and around the port.