CGC APPROVES AUTOMATION OF LICENSE & PERMITS TO NIP IN THE BUD OPERATIONAL BOTTLENECKS

CGC APPROVES AUTOMATION OF LICENSE & PERMITS TO NIP IN THE BUD OPERATIONAL BOTTLENECKS

By Timothy Paul Okorocha

The Comptroller General of the Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, has approved the automation of customs licence and permits process to nip unnecessary operational bottlenecks in the bud.

Zonal Co-ordinator of the customs in Lagos, ACG Mohamed Babandede as well the Comptroller in charge of licence and permits, Ngozika Anozie, PhD, Psc,disclosed in Lagos today.

They made this known at a stakeholders’ engagement on the vexed issue. ACG Mohammed said ‘this is a direct response to the long standing need to make our processes faster, more transparent and easier to the people we serve’

For many years, Stakeholders have had to deal with paperwork, long queues, and the uncertainty that comes with manual processing. Those days are coming to an end.

This sensitisation exercise is being held across all Zones from today. The goal is simple: to make sure that every Stakeholder understands the new automated system before it is implemented.

For Stakeholders, automation means that you will no longer have to go to a Customs office simply to apply for or renew a licence or permit. You will be able to do this from your office or even from your phone.

It means your applications will be processed faster. It means you will be able to track the status of your application in real time. And it means that the process will be the same for everyone — fair, consistent, and without the risk of error that comes with manual records.

For the Service, automation means better record keeping, easier supervision, and the ability to serve more Stakeholders at once without increasing the burden on our officers.

We know that change, even when it is for the better, can feel uncomfortable at first. I want to assure you that the team here today, led by the Comptroller of the Licences and Permits Unit, will walk you through every step of the new system. We ask that you listen with an open mind, ask your questions freely, and pay close attention to the sessions that will follow this opening address.

We also encourage you to take this information back to your associations and your colleagues who may not be here today. The more people understand the new process, the smoother the transition will be. Zone ‘A’ is the most active and economically significant Zone in Nigeria.

Lagos is the commercial heartbeat of this country which means the volume of trade that passes through this Zone is enormous. That is precisely why it matters so much that we get it right here.

It is pertinent to mention that a programme like this one does not succeed on its own. It succeeds because people decide to make it work. And that is exactly what is being asked of everyone here today. Your feedback, questions, and honest engagement will help us make it even better.

We are not here to lecture; we are here to listen and to work together. In closing, let me reiterate the position of the Nigeria Customs Service: we are not just automating a process; we are transforming the way we serve Nigeria’s trade community. This is a step forward in that direction. I wish us all a productive and successful Sensitisation Programme.

In her own submission, Controller Anozie said; “You will recall that the 3-point agenda of our indefatigable Comptroller General as he mounted the saddle of leadership are, Consolidation Collaboration and Innovation. And precisely, he has been very focused and intentional about these agenda; especially as he is surrounded by a formidable ‘think tank team’ as members of his management.

It’s no gain saying that the world has turned to a global village. The automation of every process in Customs procedures is essentially keying into the global best practices. The CGC as we all know, is the father of Customs all over the world today, and as the Chairperson of WCO, he is very persistent about making Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) an epitome of Innovative excellence by all standards.

Why is automation necessary in Licenses and Permits? The answer is direct and simple– it will bring about ease of doing business in the maritime sector specifically and would translate into a boost in the generation of the much-needed revenue for Customs and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Put simply: The benefits of automation of Licenses and Permits, are but not limited to the followings: Automation will save importers, clearing and forwarding agents the stress of acquiring or renewing their Licenses and Permits as they would be sitting in the comfort of their offices/homes to initiate and complete the process. Officers & men of License and Permit Unit, the bond seat unit of various Commands will also be saved some stress, as all their responsibilities would just be ‘clicks’ on the systems in front of their desks, as opposed to carrying loads of files from one table to another and from one office to the other.

Automation will cut the cost of doing business and minimize movement risks for our stakeholders. They would no longer be jumping on buses or flights to and fro Customs Headquarters-Abuja, paying hotel bills plus feeding for days, to obtain or renew their licenses and permits.

Automation will minimize, if not eradicate fraudulent practices in the system, as every single document that is uploaded in the course of this process will be automatically rejected by default, if it is fake and accepted if it is genuine. L&P can now view assessments through the B’Odogwu to be sure that any company applying for fresh or renewal of licences or permits is not having unpaid assessments hanging on it. The CGC is poised to sanitize the system and we, at L&P Unit are very passionate about this, to ensure that objective is achieved.

Automation saves time. “Time na Money” is a popular saying and we can’t agree less with this pidgin adage in this instance. Our stakeholders will now have the luxury of using the time they would have expended running from one Command to the other or to Customs headquarters Abuja, to achieve other equally useful objectives in their business value chain that would impact the growth and expansion of their businesses.

Ultimately, this automation will enhance the statutory revenue generation duties of the Nigeria Customs Service, because fees are paid into the coffers of government with every single licence and permit processed; imports are made with the permits, the clearing processes are stamped with the licences given and obviously, revenue is generated. So, the more licences and permit we issue or renew, the more revenue we would generate for NCS and Nigeria economy.

Automation elicits more efficiency and productivity from the officers as they leverage on the seamlessness of the process to work on more documents in minutes with greater output. The advantages of automation are just endless.

Based on the forgoing, may I use this medium to appeal to our extremely hardworking officers of the Service, whose schedule of duties interface with Licences and Permits Unit to embrace this automation, to enable us achieve the desired objectives.

The success of this programme adds to the many success stories of the CGC and his management team and their success is our collective success, as officers and men of the Service. I also appeal to our esteemed stakeholders to embrace this automation with both hands, because the Service has their interest at heart for this innovative process.

I have to, in the same vein, appeal to the invaluable members of the press to assist us in the dissemination of the information, so that the general public and the stakeholders would be aware of this stress-free, efficient, money and time saving process. You know that, without you, we would not be heard loudly as we should. There is power in information!

Let me assure you all, that this automation process is simple and seamless. The bond seat officers of various Customs Area Commands have been trained before now for this automation process; but we are here to refresh their memories on it once more, so that we will all be on the same pedestal as we apply and utilize it.

Also, our stakeholders will be guided through the part of the process that concerns their own domain as the tutorial/lecture goes on. After the entire sensitization programme, we will leave all the Bond seat officers and our esteemed stakeholders some handbooks and posters that contain the step -by step procedures of this automation; so that officers and stakeholders alike can consult them from time to time as they proceed in the applications. I can assure you that you will only need to consult this poster or handbook once and the next time—you will be coasting with it- enjoyably.