Joyce Mmereole Okoli
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has commenced the full implementation of its Simplified Declaration for Passenger Baggage Import system, cutting the average clearance time for passenger baggage to less than five minutes.
The new digital system, introduced as part of the Service’s ongoing drive to modernise customs operations and facilitate legitimate cross-border travel and trade, allows passengers to declare their baggage using mobile devices or designated digital kiosks at the Command.
Under the new arrangement, declared personal goods are assessed using standardised and pre-programmed assessment tables, with the system automatically calculating applicable duties and generating receipts once payment is completed.
The Customs Service said the innovation is designed to eliminate unnecessary manual processes, reduce discretionary assessments and provide passengers with a faster, more transparent and predictable clearance process.
Since the commencement of the deployment, the Seme Area Command said it has recorded an average passenger baggage clearance turnaround time of under five minutes.
The Command has also generated ₦10,340,260.02 in revenue from passenger baggage declarations within the first few days of implementation.
According to the Command, the revenue represents duties collected through an automated and transparent process and is remitted to the Federation Account.
The Customs Area Controller, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said the deployment underscores the Service’s commitment to leveraging technology to improve border operations and enhance the experience of legitimate travellers and cross-border traders.
Kaila, while reaffirming the commitment of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to technology-driven customs administration, urged passengers and members of the trading community to embrace the new system.
He said the digital process would promote trade facilitation, transparency, accountability and compliance, while ensuring that legitimate passengers and businesses receive the necessary support within the framework of national security and economic protection.
The Command, however, stressed that the digital baggage declaration system would not weaken border enforcement.
It said the new process is being implemented alongside strengthened risk-management and intelligence-led enforcement measures to prevent the use of passenger baggage to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods.
Through enhanced profiling and intelligence gathering, the Command said it would continue to identify and intercept attempts to exploit the passenger clearance process for smuggling and other forms of illicit cross-border trade.
The Seme Area Command further said it would continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and sister government agencies operating along the Nigeria-Benin border corridor to ensure the seamless movement of legitimate passengers and goods.
The deployment is part of the broader modernisation programme of the Nigeria Customs Service aimed at reducing clearance bottlenecks, improving revenue collection and strengthening border management through digital technology.
The Command urged passengers and cross-border traders to make full use of the simplified declaration platform and comply with applicable customs regulations.