Nigerian courier operators under the aegis of Nigerian International Air Courier Association (NIACA), has begun high wire move to ensure faster clearance of goods at the country’s ports.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek
gathered that the body has already submitted a proposed guideline to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in response to the intended introduction of ASYCUDA++ to express clearing and capture of duty on courier shipments.
Sule Umar Bichi, vice chairman, government relations of NIACA in letter addressed to Comptroller General of Customs dated May, 30, 2008, said that the proposal "contains measures which the NCS should follow to enable Courier Operators to undertake their legitimate business of transporting express shipments and processing them through customs in the fastest and simplest way possible"
"It also proposes that the clearance of courier shipments shall not be subjected to the application of Form M and Risk Assessment Report. The recommended measures are not exhaustive. The NCS, and Courier Operators through their executive bodies, may need to agree to other measures as well, based on local conditions or needs. This document is intended to form part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU)that will define the working relationship between Courier Operators and NCS" he added.
According to the proposal, NIACA intends to support NCS in its capacity as a revenue and control authority, and to establish the standards of service, compliance and cooperation that both Customs and courier operators should expect from each other- both now and in the future and to detail the standards of service that Courier Operators- being reputable and professional economic operators of import and export services- should expect to receive from the NCS- both now and in the future.
NIACA said that NCS shall endeavour to provide the platform for the provision of electronic manifests free of charge to courier operators.
Electronic manifest of shipments shall normally be submitted via e-mail or other electronic means before flight arrival for flights originating from Africa, and four hours before flight arrival for flights originating from the rest of the world.
