The Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that henceforth, any consignment dully released at any of the terminal would not be subjected to 'alert' and cross examination by the Customs Investigation Unit (CIU) of the command.
Confirming this to Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday, Public Relations Officer of the Tin Can Customs, Mr Uche Ejesieme noted that the move to streamline operations at the command is in line with the recent Presidential Order on Ease of Doing Business.
Ejesieme assured all clearing agents and freight forwarders that this directive is with immediate effect and that a circular to this effect has been issued to all CIU officers at Tin Can Port, as well as terminal and unit heads for their information and necessary compliance.
He said that "In line with the recent presidential directive pertaining to Ease of doing Business, the Customs intelligence Unit, Tincan Island Port, have streamlined its mode of operation, to the extent that any duly released cargo from the terminal will no longer attract CIU alert"
Also confirming the development to Shipping Position Daily yesterday, Chairman, Tin Can Island Chapter of International Freight Forwarders Association (IFFA) Ojo Akintoye said that his executives had held a meeting with the team leader of the CIU and it was confirmed that customs alerts have been streamlined at the command.
At the end of the meeting with the CIU team leader, he said that IFFA have been directly informed that any consignment being released by DC Terminal would not be subjected to extra checks at the gate by officers.
"Before now, the CIU would put an alert on a job and the same alert is placed by valuation, we are trying to see how we can consolidate the two of them"
"The CIU has agreed now that henceforth, and they have written OC gate that henceforth, any job released by the DC Terminal should not be stopped at the gate again. There is a letter towards that and it is dated 15th of August 2017"
"The team leader AC Bomai signed the letter. Henceforth, gate officers should not stop jobs for CIU alert again" he said
Ojo noted that the issue of 'alert' on dully cargoes has always been a serious challenge in the past because it inhibits trade facilitation and that it grants the gate officers an avenue to extort its members.
Ojo said that the circular on disbandment of checkpoints by the customs headquaters is not being implemented. He said that his association is ready to partner the federal government in this regard.
"Before you move from Tin Can to Mile 2, you would see not less that three check points mounted by customs officers that have been asked to leave the road"
"Any job cleared at the command should not be stopped by young officers on the highway. Let them come to where the container is being cleared so that they can witness it"
He said that bad roads have caused truck drivers to increase their fairs arbitrarily.
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