About 14, 259 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAAR) have been rejected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) since it took over the scheme from the former scanner service providers (SSPS) last year.
The documents were rejected following several violations of the laid down rules and regulations guiding the issuance of PAAR.
Similarly, not less than N950.1 billion was collected NCS as revenue into the federation account from January to November 2014.
The figure collected by the service which oversees Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa Quay, Lagos, showed that the amount is 23.4 per cent higher than the N769.3 billion collected in the corresponding period of 2013.
These were disclosed by the NCS, Customs Area Controller, Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Charles Edike.
He said in addition to the amount collected, the NCS also saved the country N36.9 billion collected under the one per cent Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS), which would have been paid to the three former destination service providers.
Speaking on “The effect of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) on the Nigeria Economy”, Edike said notwithstanding initial teething problems, the NCS has been able to overcome the challenges experienced at the introduction of PAAR in December last year, as it has so far received and processed 201,330 requests out of which 188,424 were finally released and 108,169 uplifted with a total Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of N5.6 trillion.
Edike, who spoke on the sidelines of the formal inauguration of the new executives of Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) led by Ifenyinwa Obi, said the new clearance procedure had not only increased the revenue profile of the service; it has helped in reducing cost and time of clearance of goods at the port, thus facilitating trade.
According to him, NCS has gained the recognition of the World Customs Organization (WCO) as a result of the successes recorded by the development and introduction of PAAR.
He however noted that the biggest challenge of the new clearance procedure is lack of compliance to trade regulations by importers as a total of 14, 259 PAAR have so far been rejected.
He said the non-compliance of importers is the reason why some PAAR documents are queried.
“The biggest challenge is compliance. Your PAAR will not be queried so long as you are transparent and do not cut corners. But when you want to cut corners, your PAAR will be queried because the system is robust enough,” Edike said.
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