Barely six months of its introduction by the Nigeria Customs Service, key stakeholders in freight forwarding operations have expressed satisfaction with the success so far recorded by the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
The operators said that since the introduction of PAAR last year, clearance of consignments from the port has experienced tremendous improvement.
Barely six months of its introduction by the Nigeria Customs Service, key stakeholders in freight forwarding operations have expressed satisfaction with the success so far recorded by the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
The operators said that since the introduction of PAAR last year, clearance of consignments from the port has experienced tremendous improvement.
The operators who were drawn from the two leading freight forwarding associations; ANLCA, NAGAFF, in a chat with journalists on Friday, lauded the Customs management for the innovation.
President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) ;Chief Eugene Nweke said PAAR is a local content initiative that has helped the economy of the country.
Nweke said that the Federal Government of Nigeria has been able to safe over N250billion from the scheme as against what obtained when the destination inspection service providers were engaged.
He said that with PAAR, the customs has been able to save cost on behalf of the government.
"PAAR is working and it will continue to work if given the necessary support because what RAR has failed to address, which is accessibility, visibility and acceptability, PAAR has been able to address it"
" As far as Nigerian agents are concerned PAAR is here to stay", Nweke
Stated.
According to him the teething problems faced by PAAR initially has been addressed because under six hours PAAR is issued to the operators.
He added that the Nigeria Customs Service has been able to release more than 28,000 PAAR as against what the three other service providers were transmitting.
On his part, the Western Zone Coordinator of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Sir, John Ofobike said that “PAAR is the greatest thing Customs has put in place, so many times we have clamoured for them to get things done right and the present regime under Abdullahi Dikko has got it right by sending officers abroad for training on this , I would want to tell Nigerians, congratulations for the success of PAAR".
He said that there are bound to be problems at the initial stage of every innovation, even as he added that PAAR also came out of such problems, and that the problem with PAAR is a thing of the past.
“You cannot compare death with sleep because the service providers are not professionals, once there is any problem under the RAR agents will go to Customs, Customs will refer them to the banks and banks will refer them to Central Bank of Nigeria and all these cause delay in the clearing of goods ",he added.
Also fielding questions from the media, a frontline freight forwarder, Prince Oul Ologbese said that there has been great improvement on the transmission of PAAR.
He said that agents do not have issues with customs formalities, saying that the shipping lines and terminal operators are the major cause of the delay faced in the port
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