The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on yesterday, said the service is set to deploy its recently procured scanners at the Apapa, Tin-Can Island and Onne Seaports for cargo examination and aid trade facilitation.
Recall that shippers and importers, have complained that the absence of scanners at the port has led to N800billion monthly and about N9.6 trillion yearly loss.
The absence of scanners, according to stakeholders, have led to Customs conducting 100 per cent physical examination on cargoes, thereby disrupting trade facilitation and quick cargo evacuation from the nation’s seaports.
However, speaking at the sensitisation programme, for NCS Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII), Standing Operating Procedures, in Lagos, the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Modernisation and ICT, Saidu Galadima, explained that the regime will commence operation and will be deployed as soon as the minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, gives a date for commissioning.
Galadima, stated further that the scanners will scan a minimum of 400 containers in a day at each port even, as he said, the boxes will be scan within a space of one minute.
Customs ACG said, “This sensitisation is very key, to the success of the non intrusive technology that Customs is set to commence at the ports. The management of the NCS, has directed us to come and sensitise stakeholders on the flow of how the new regime will work.
“The essence behind the new technology is based on trade facilitation. Only compliant traders will celebrate. If you are compliant enough, you won’t have any contact with any Customs officer. Cargoes will be released without anybody needing to go to any Customs office.”
Speaking on how the system will work, ACG Galadima, said, “All activities will start after the scanning process has been completed. When the vessels berth, the containers will be scanned, before they are taken to the stacking area where cargo declarations will start.
“All the scanning process would have been completed before agents make thier declarations. We have qualified Customs officers who will be manning them. Although, the manufacturer, with agreement with them, will station their technical personnel to oversee the running of the scanners, which are brand new, our officers have also been trained to oversee those scanners.”
“On capacity, the scanners will scan 400 containers daily with four hours to rest. For every 20ft container, the scanner will take an average of 35 seconds each to scan. For every 40ft container, the scanners will scan them at an average of 45 seconds each.”
“The scanners have been configured into our NICIS 2 platform. During image analysis, clearing agents won’t have any business there. The image analysis area will be a “no go” zone for agents. The scanning area will be a controlled area. We won’t allow people loitering there.
“For physical examination, we aim to ensure that the scanning percentage will be higher than the number of containers that will be subjected to physical examination.
“We all have to make it work. If agents decide to cut corners, they will bear the cost of delay associated with physical examination. So, being compliant will benefit all of us. Scanning will be run on shift of morning, afternoon and perhaps night, depending on the flow of business,” he said.
“The system has been configured into the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS 11) system. The main aim is to reduce physical examination and we need compliance from traders to achieve that. This is the beginning of our automation process as Customs would soon introduce end-to-end automated process,” Galadima explained.
Galadima further assured port users that the introduction of scanners in port operations will reduce cost of doing business by reducing the rate of demurrage and storage charges importers pay on containers due to delay.
He added that it will also make things easier for terminal operators by eliminating time of moving containers from the ship to stacking area and back to the scanning bay as the new regime would enable containers to be scanned at arrival, and the image analysed afterwards.
Giving insight into the SOP, Paul Ekpenyong, deputy comptroller, said Customs in all commands will run shifts – morning, afternoon and perhaps night – to enable sufficient time to avoid having traffic overflow.
“We also have understanding with the manufactures of the scanners and they have agreed to station their technical personnel in Nigeria to deal with cases of technical eventuality. If what is declared tallies with the container content, the cargo owners will be notified by the terminal operator and goods released without delay,” he said.
