…Highlights difference between NICIS and B’Odogwu platforms
In its commitment to reduce physical examination at the nation’s seaports by 50 percent before the end of third quarter of 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has said that it is awaiting the arrival of 67 scanners from China to improve on cargo clearing at the ports and border locations across the country.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi who disclosed this while fielding questions from stakeholders shortly after his paper presentation with the title, “NCS and Its Trade Modernization Programs: Benefits and Challenges”, at an event in Lagos recently disclosed that the scanners were procured by the concessionaires as part of its responsibility as contained in the Nigeria Customs Service Act, NCSA 2023.
Represented by Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Oyindamola Abass Oladepo, revealed that the Comptroller General of Customs traveled to China with the concessionaires some months ago to ensure that they got scanners that were actually good for customs operations and meeting all the specifications.
“So, we have over 67 of them plus the ones we already have on ground. But it is the responsibility of the terminal operators and according to the law that was signed and we are not the one that signed that law. It was an Act of the National Assembly which the stakeholders, the captains of industry were part of. So, everybody was there, even some of the terminal operators were part of this decision to ensure that there’s trade facilitation in our ports and borders.
“That is not to say that we are shying away from such responsibility. They must provide an enabling environment for customs officers and for their customers to work. A lot of this has been incorporated into their operational expenses and in all the payments that the customers are making”, Oladepo stated.
He equally took time to highlight the difference between the NICIS and B’Odogwu platforms adding that while B’Odogwu is web based, NICIS is not web based at all.
He continued, “B’Odogwu has user friendly interface, in fact, navigation through B’Odogwu is seamless. You can easily navigate through B’Odogwu. Everything is programmed in B’Odogwu.
“Then, in B’Odogwu, as a trader, you are to initiate the process of registration of Form M, even from the comfort of your home, you don’t need to go to the authorized dealer bank to start the process of opening Form M on B’Odogwu.
“Even as a trader also, when your Form M has been updated and your PAAR registered, the previous issue of somebody using your company’s name to execute a job is no longer on B’Odogwu. You have to be the one to select the declarant you want to take your job. If you have your PAAR with you, anybody cannot just take your PAAR and work on it. You must initiate it yourself.
“On B’Odogwu also, there are so many issues that we had in NICIS such that there’s a lot of trespasses, third party issues and the rest of them. The whole idea behind B’Odogwu is that it was an ideal system that everyone of us has been craving for.
“On B’Odogwu, you cannot just submit an invalid thing and expect that it will work. You must have things that are valid and tax holder compliance. If you have an insurance that you are getting from an insurance company, if that insurance company is not registered with NAICOM, you cannot do the entry. So, the whole idea behind B’Odogwu is just to tell you that we want to do away with our old ways of doing things.”
Oladepo further explained that under NICIS, the officials of the Service did not have control over the platform as the system and the data therein was controlled from outside the shores of the country.
“But with B’Odogwu, most of the things you see on B’Odogwu are being handled by the Nigeria Customs Service and when I say the Nigeria Customs Service, I mean our ICT staff. So, our data is protected and we can assure you that the issue of cyber security, that people will attack us because it’s web based is not the question here, because one of the concerns that people used to raise when it comes to anything that has to do with web based is that they are prone to attacks”, he said.
He went ahead to inform that the B’Odogwu platform was being piloted by an indigenous company known as Trade Modernization Project Limited saying, “We entered into an agreement with them on the 28th September, 2022. The company is fully owned by Nigerians and they have been very good partners. Most of the work that we are doing on B’Odogwu right now is carefully done by them and us and that is why we can boldly say that we are in control of everything that is happening on B’Odogwu.”
He also said that the Service had embarked on a series of stakeholders engagement through the media, sensitization in their various offices and town hall meetings.
“Every time, we are going around, in fact, I was even at a forum – Stanbic IBTC where we had to educate people on how to go about registration of Form M and PAAR and ensuring that it meets the recommendation properly. So, we have been engaging people regularly and we won’t stop.
“We have a dedicated help desk that is ready to attend to every concern. So, we have been engaging freely with the people and the engagement continues’, he submitted.
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