Trade Facilitation: Fast Track 2.0 Will Transform Operations Of Customs – Hameed Ali

Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) has assured the trading public that the introduction of fast track 2.0 will be the game changer for trade facilitation .

The Comptroller General gave the assurance at a 2-Day Retreat organised by the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Badagry on Thursday, with the theme, “Enhancing Capacity/Efficiency in Modern News Reportage”.

Ali also stated that the service is taking the lead and working regularly with other relevant agencies to ensure proper implementation of the single-window system for trade facilitation, as part of its modernisation project.

The single-window system is a trade facilitation concept which allows an international trader submit information to a single platform, rather than having to deal with multiple agencies in different locations to obtain necessary papers, permits and clearances to complete their import or export processes.

However, Nigeria is still struggling to fully implement the concept which helps save time and is recognised by the World Customs Organization (WCO), as well as other trade related organisations.

The Nigerian government agencies involved in the process include: Customs, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Finance, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

The Customs CG who was represented by the National Public Relations Officer  of the Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, said that the Service has been working hard and carrying along all agencies involved in the trade process to make it work as expected.

He stated that the objective remains the improved movement of goods, eliminating time wastage, reducing associated cost burdens and maximising efficiency, while safeguarding legitimate trade.

 

His words: “The issue of single window is one of the WCO trade facilitation areas which has to do with coordination and cooperation among agencies. It is one of the key areas if we really want to take trade seriously in Nigeria. The effort is on and we are hopeful of achieving that.

“It is not a core responsibility of the Customs alone to achieve this, so many agencies need to come together so that we can have good interaction between us. I think this kind of interface is been championed by the Customs. If you look at our system, it embraces sister agency collaboration so that cargoes can be moved effectively.

Speaking on some of his achievements in office as CGC, he noted the Customs Act 2023 as a major milestone, apart from the trade modernisation project and the completion of the the corporate headquarters in Abuja.

He however, explained that the new Act is not yet available to the public because it has not been officially gazetted, adding that the effective date for the full implementation of the legislation would be decided as a matter of priority in due course.

“The act is not in the public domain because it is yet to be officially gazetted. The department of legal services is working day and night to ensure that the law is gazetted.

“And before that is perfected, a holistic sensitisation will commence, right from the management members, to comptrollers and stakeholders. I’m working on a media plan on how the sensitisation will be effective”.

The Customs boss pointed out that based on performance, the Nigeria Customs Service is doing better than some of their foreign counterparts and will continue to improve on effective service delivery and trade facilitation.

On anti-smuggling, he revealed that the Service will soon adopt the use of satellite images, geospatial, drones and others in tackling economic sabotage in the country’s borders.

Speaking further, he commended AMJON for hosting the event, stating that Journalism is an important and highly regarded profession that helps to propagate the activities of the NCS.

 

Other PROs present at the event are: Seme Command, Hussaini Abdullahi; PTML Command, Muhammad Yakubu; Ogun 1 Command, Hameed Oloyede; FOU Zone ‘A’, Theophilus Duniya, Western Marine Command, Mailafia Magaji, Murtala Muhammed Airport Cargo Command, VU Ogagbor, and other officers were also present at the event.