Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has recommended a 2-year validity period for brokerage licenses issued by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, made this call in a press statement disseminated on Monday, where he also congratulated the NCS on its first issuance of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) under the B’Odogwu (Unified Customs Management System).
This achievement follows the recent strategic engagement between the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, where both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to seamless trade processes, enhanced revenue collection, and improved financial integration.
B’Odogwu is an indigenous replacement for the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS II), is designed to modernise Customs operations, enhance efficiency in trade documentation, and strengthen inter-agency collaboration.
According to Ogunojemite, however, an extension of the Customs licenses from annually to biennially could have numerous benefits from licensed agents as well as the NCS.
He itemized some of these benefits to include; reduced administrative burden, lower economic costs of agents, increased efficiency, enhanced predictability, among others.
“Reducing the frequency of license renewals from one year to two years could decrease the administrative burden on businesses and the Nigeria Customs Service. A longer license period could simplify compliance procedures, allowing businesses to focus on their core activities.
“A 2-year period could also enable businesses to plan more effectively, making it easier to manage logistics and supply chain. A longer license period could provide greater predictability for businesses, allowing them to make more informed decisions.
“Extending the license period could reduce the costs associated with frequent renewals, such as application fees and documentation costs. Businesses would need to devote fewer resources to ensuring ongoing compliance,” Ogunojemite said.
The freight forwarder equally argued that a 2-year license period could allow for more thorough risk assessments, enabling the Customs to better identify and mitigate potential security risks, even as enhanced monitoring will be attained.
