Customs Reforms Eliminate Multiple Alerts, Enhance Trade Efficiency At PTML

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command, said it has intensified trade facilitation measures by promoting 24-hour cargo clearance and eliminating multiple alerts that previously slowed cargo processing.

The officer in charge of the Trade Facilitation Unit at the PTML Command, Assistant Comptroller Gideon Adekunle, disclosed this during an interview after receiving GOOD LEADERSHIP AWARD at the command’s headquarters in Lagos. He explained that the command has adopted a one-stop shop approach to ensure faster cargo clearance and reduce unnecessary bottlenecks.

According to him, the one-stop shop system has replaced the practice where different Customs units placed multiple alerts on a single consignment, often resulting in delays.

He explained that under the new arrangement, only a single alert is raised on any consignment requiring further examination, while officers from the relevant units jointly resolve the issue.

“What we do in the Trade Facilitation Unit is to ensure there are no bottlenecks in cargo clearance. Instead of different units placing separate alerts on the same job, we now operate a one-stop shop where all concerned units come together to resolve any issue,” he said.

Adekunle noted that where no discrepancy is found, consignments are released immediately, while cases requiring additional scrutiny are referred for dispute resolution without unnecessarily delaying cargo delivery.

He added that in situations where issues are not clear-cut, Customs allows the cargo to be released while post-clearance audit or the dispute resolution mechanism handles any outstanding concerns.

“This is in line with the spirit of trade facilitation. We don’t want importers to suffer unnecessary delays. If a matter can be resolved after release through post-clearance processes, we allow the cargo to move,” he stated.

The Customs officer said the reforms have enabled the command to pursue a 24-hour cargo clearance target, allowing compliant importers and licensed customs agents to obtain release of their consignments on the same day documentation is completed.

“We are practising 24-hour cargo clearance. Importers can process their declarations today, obtain release the same day and, where logistics permit, move their cargo immediately,” he said.

He urged importers and licensed customs agents to take advantage of the various trade facilitation initiatives introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi.

Adekunle highlighted the Advanced Ruling system as one of the key reforms that has improved predictability in cargo processing.

According to him, once Customs issues an Advance Ruling on the appropriate Harmonised System (HS) classification for a product, that decision becomes binding, preventing unnecessary disputes over classification whenever similar consignments arrive.

“With an Advance Ruling already in place, officers are not expected to question the classification of such consignments again. This enables the cargo to be processed and released without delay,” he explained.

He said the combination of the one-stop shop initiative, dispute resolution mechanism, post-clearance audit and Advance Ruling has significantly enhanced cargo clearance efficiency while supporting legitimate trade at the PTML Command.