Shittu describes PAAR as best tool for trade facilitation
To feature as panellist at IFCBA 2014
Despite the hitches being experienced in its implementation, the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) is still the best option to facilitate trade through the nation’s ports, says National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu.
Shittu, at a meeting held at the association’s National Secretariat in Lagos last Tuesday, expressed confidence in the workability of PAAR despite the challenges the new customs e-clearance regime is presently facing.
He said that once the problem of establishing the actual value of goods is solved by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the PAAR scheme will live up to the expectations of stakeholders.
The ANLCA boss charged the executives of the various chapters of the association to hold regular meetings with their members with a view to continuously sensitizing them on the workability of PAAR and the need to bring to the attention of the association’s national body the problems they encounter for possible solutions.
He also urged them to be bold enough to bring reports of recalcitrant customs officers who try to truncate the PAAR scheme.
In a separate development, Prince Shittu has been invited as a panelist at the International Federation of Customs Brokers Association (IFCBA) conference to be hosted by Korea in May this year.
A letter sent from the IFCBA Secretariat formally invited Prince Shittu to be part of a panel discussion focused on “Stakeholders Engagement – Criteria for Success” during the conference scheduled to hold from May 13 – 17, 2014.
The conference with the theme, “Celebrating 25 years of Trade Facilitation through Expertise and Innovation” would host delegates from every region of the world representing customs brokerage and freight forwarding firms, express carriers, shipping companies, importers and exporters.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.