Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Abdulahi Inde Dikko, has said that the reluctance of importers and clearing agents to accept change which is manifested in lack of transparency and honesty in import and export declaration is one major factor militating against the facilitation of international trade.
Speaking through Comptroller Wesley Gambo yesterday at a stakeholder’s summit on ‘Enhacing Trade Facilitation through Sustainable Compliance’ organised by African Centre for Supply Chain and Multimix Export Academy, Dikko said the main reason for delays in clearance of goods at the port is incomplete documentation by agents.
“Once your documentation are complete and accurate, there is no reason whatsoever for anybody to have delays at the port. In the case of the newly introduced PAAR, there are instances whereby documents are uploaded by the bank and when they are complete and accurate, PAAR is issued in less than 20 minutes,” he said.
However he said delays in clearance of goods add to cost of doing business at the port thereby discouraging potential investors.
He pointed out that contrary to claims that the NCS focuses more on revenue generation; it is more committed to trade facilitation to maximize revenue generation.
“If you are talking of revenue, revenue, you are talking of the past but presently NCS is very interested in trade facilitation as much as it is interested in the revenue aspect. Trade facilitation improves customs productivity, increases government revenue and also help to improve volume of foreign trade,” he said.