Reps assess DI service providers

Following the extension of the contract awarded to Destination Inspection (DI) service providers, the House of Representative Committee on Customs and Excise may have begun investigation into the contract extension with a view to assessing the performance of the service providers.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Sabo Nakudu, while rating the performance of DI agents, stated that they have performed well in the area of fixed scanners, but, he, however, criticised the duplication of risk assessment report (RAR) that is being issued by the DI agents.
He pointed out that their inadequacy has led to loss of revenue to the Federal Government and extra cost of clearing for Nigerians.

“We can see that the customs are trained, they are ready to take over and the scanners are in place, but our main problem is in the issuance of risk assessment report because that is where the revenue comes in, in most cases we have instances where the RAR is duplicated or unutilized or reissued, you see a consignment been issued twice on different amount of money,” he stated.
He noted that any of the agencies found wanting by the committee will be compelled to make a refund to the federal government on the percentages gotten from RAR duplicate.
On Customs preparedness to take over the scheme in the next six months, Nakudu confirmed that they are capable and ready to take over from the service providers.
“We are here to basically check and see the preparedness of the customs to take over and to make sure that what the service providers are supposed to deliver has been delivered, I am convinced that the customs is capable of taking over,” Nakudu said.
The committee visited Webfontaine and Cotecna facilities at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC), as well as the Global Scansystem facilities at the PTML Terminal, where the members, who were accompanied by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), inspected the fixed scanners and the scanning sites.