The Chairman, Electoral Commission (NECOM) of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF); Mr. Okey Nerus, has explained that false declaration as one of the major reasons there is delay in vehicular clearance at the ports using the newly introduced Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System ( NICIS 2).
Nerus, who gave this explanation last week in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos, also blamed the management of the Nigeria Customs Service, saddled with the responsibility of introducing this platform of rushing to introduce NICIS 2, without educating the stakeholders on that platform.
He also called on the government to address the issue of disparity in the duties payable of imported vehicles, even as he added that officials of the service should be properly educated on the new platform.
“The NICIS 2 came with good intention, but much as the intention is good there are hiccups everywhere. The management rushed into the platform and there were things that they are supposed to put in place before this NICIS 2 which were not done”
“Now that they have come out, they are supposed to do some fundamental things which they didn’t do. Secondly, there is so much disparity in the duty of vehicles; take for example in Tin Can will give you a different value while PTML will give you a different value”
“Another is where are the officers that are supposed to b on ground to tackle whatever problem that may arise as a result of the NICIS 2”
He advised that if importers can make a genuine declaration, 60% of what will cause delay in cargo clearance would have been addressed.
Discussion about this post