CUSTOMS PAAR:

Not done with its recent critic of the Customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents has taken a further step; this time the body is requesting for a waiver on demurrage and rent on goods that have stayed in the ports longer than necessary.
The Council, which is led by Mr Lucky Amiwero, in a letter dated March 27, and sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, attributed the non-clearance of many consignments in the ports to the delay in obtaining the all-important Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

Not done with its recent critic of the Customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents has taken a further step; this time the body is requesting for a waiver on demurrage and rent on goods that have stayed in the ports longer than necessary.
The Council, which is led by Mr Lucky Amiwero, in a letter dated March 27, and sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, attributed the non-clearance of many consignments in the ports to the delay in obtaining the all-important Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
In the letter which was also sent to the Coordinating minister of the economy and the Minister of finance and the Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the body stated that: “Most goods are stalled in the port as a result of non-issuance of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) and other challenges associated with the issuance, which has negative impact that resulted to the mounting of demurrages and rents on the goods that cannot be cleared”.
It also argued that “there is serious distortion to the economy as a result of obstacle, impediment and backlog of cargo clearance in the present Pre- Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) regime that has long-standing negative effect on the port system.
Blaming the PAAR for the delay, the Amiwero group also pointed attention to provisions of the Customs and Excise Management Act which it said, covers granting of waivers under the current circumstances.
“The provision allows waiver and reduction of rent and demurrage if the circumstance is caused by Nigeria Customs, which is the case in the delay on the issuance of the Pre- Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).”
“The appeal became necessary to save the import trading community from the mounting demurrage and rents that may result to total abandonment of goods in the port by importers due to lack of funds to pay for mounting of Demurrages and Rents, that is not their fault”.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the Council of Managing Directors had earlier written to the same Presidency to call for the total cancellation of PAAR. It alleged in the petition that the Customs PAAR was ill-conceived and poorly implemented, even as a replacement t for the old Risk Assessment Report (RAR) of the destination inspection agents, whose contract were terminated last year.