The Nigeria Customs Service has confirmed an extension to its January 31st deadline for provisional release of cargoes granted importers and their agents by two weeks.
SHIPS & PORTS DAILY had reported exclusively yesterday that due to the backlog of yet to be processed Risk Assessment Report (RAR) applications and complaints from agents that it takes up to weeks to get approval of the provisional release; the service may have a rethink to extend the deadline.
Customs spokesman, Wale Adeniyi in a chat with SHIPS & PORTS DAILY yesterday said a total number of 4,000 of the 99,300 RAR’s applications inherited by the Service from the three service providers firm namely: Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited, Global Scansystem and SGS are yet to be processed hence the service has granted an extension of two weeks to clear the back log.
“The extension is to enable us clear the remaining backlog. We still have about 4,000 applications still pending. So in the next two weeks starting from the end of January, we should be able to start on a clean state” he said.
Adeniyi said at the expiration of the grace period, the backlog would have been cleared and PAAR will be issued as expected.
“The whole idea of the concession is for them not to wait for PAAR. When you have 99,000 RAR’s been processed at a time, there will be bottle neck and the system will be choked. So at the expiration of the extension, if there are those that have not entered overtime, it means they will now have to process the regular PAAR to clear their goods” he said.
He said the extension is not limited to Tin Can Island Port command but cut across the nation’s seaports.
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