By ZAKAA Lazarus
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has commenced full operationalisation of Simplified Declaration for Passenger Baggage Import.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Superintendent John Ayagbalo, disclosed this in a statement for the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, on Wednesday.
Ayagbalo said the deployment is to simplify declaration and assessment, reduce clearance time, enhance transparency and facilitate movement of legitimate travellers and traders through the Seme corridor.
He said the system enables passengers to initiate declarations via mobile devices or at designated digital kiosks, with standardised assessment tables automatically calculating duties and generating receipts upon payment.
He said the aim is to cut manual processes and discretionary assessment while providing a transparent and predictable process.
According to him, average clearance turnaround is now under five minutes, with N10.34 million generated within first few days of implementation from baggage declarations alone.
“The automated process provides a direct and transparent channel for collection of duties payable to Federation Account,” he said.
He said deployment is being implemented alongside strengthened enforcement and intelligence-led controls to intercept attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted goods as passenger baggage.
Comptroller Kaila reaffirmed commitment of Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, to deploying technology to promote trade facilitation, transparency and compliance.
The Command urged passengers and cross-border traders to use the system and comply with customs requirements, assuring that legitimate travel and commerce will be facilitated within national security framework.
