Customs Beats Service Providers’ Records 24 Hours DIS Takeover

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it produces Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) within six hours, barely 24 hours of taking over full operations of the Destination Inspection Scheme.

Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, comptroller general of Customs, who disclosed this at a Town Hall meeting held with traders in Lagos to sensitize them on the new scheme, said the Customs Ruling Centre issued the first PAAR, a mandatory document for imports into Nigeria which replaces the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) and which hitherto took 5 days to be issued by erstwhile Service, only 6 hours.

“We have invested a lot preparing for this feat. Service Providers took a minimum of 5 working days to issue their RAR.

“We convinced Government that we can produce the replacement in 6 hours. Now we have achieved that in less than an hour”, the Comptroller-General told a cheering crowd of traders, noting that it was possible for Government to beat the private sector, in the performance of certain tasks.

Wale Adeniyi, Customs high command Image-maker, who later provided an update, gave the name of the historic PAAR’s  importer/ beneficiary  as WAAZ ULTIMATE GLOBAL LINK Limited of #10 Herbert Macaulay Street, Yaba Lagos; adding it was numbered  CN20130017589/001.

“The document covers an importation of a 40-foot Container of Children

Educational toys and glass cup procured from Hong Kong China”, indicated Adeniyi, furnishing details of the agent to the Importer, Alhaji Usman Baba, who while expressing his joy that this Final Documents churned out the first ever PAAR from the Ruling Centre, also said he had approached the scheme with apprehension, especially when submitting the documents.

“It was the first working day, and many of us thought Customs will find it difficult coping with the rush. I was surprised when I got a call from Abuja that my PAAR was ready. Since the consignment was routed to Green, it means 48-Hour clearance is possible under the new

System”, Alhaji Baba declared, stressing that he was already in touch with the Importer, who had promised to ensure immediate payment of the Customs duty.

It would be recalled that following the expiration of the contracts for operation of Destination Inspection by Service Providers, the Federal Government of Nigeria had directed an immediate take-over of the scheme by the Nigeria Customs Service.

Components of the scheme taken over by Customs include management of Scanning operations in designated Ports, airports and border stations in Nigeria.