The Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has beefed up its trade facilitation process with the deployment of ‘Time Release Study (TRS) tool’ for strategic planning in determining the actual time required for the release and clearance of goods, right from the time of arrival to physical release from Customs control.
Addressing some stakeholders in his office recently, the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Musa Abdullahi, said the TRS is a strategic tool that is capable of identifying bottlenecks in the trade value chain and creating an enabling environment for effectiveness and efficiency in operations.
According to him, it is on the strength of this and other parameters that the Command generated a total of N117.839 billion between January and April 2020, despite the global pandemic, adding that the figure is against the sum of N106.644 billion generated same period in 2019, reflecting a difference of N11.194 billion
While responding to issues bothering on challenges amid the COVID-19, the Comptroller reiterated the readiness of the Command to ensure adherence and compliance with the extant protocols by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) towards containing the spread of the virus.
He hinted that prior to the declaration of the virus as a pandemic disease, the Command had conducted series of seminars and awareness campaign, targeted at sensitizing the officers/men as well as stakeholders on measures to adopt in dealing with the menace. He said these measures would be sustained even after the Covid-19 era.
“Even at the onset of this pandemic when pressure, anxiety and general apprehension was the order of the day, the Command demonstrated resilience, sagacity and compassion in its approach to the novel pandemic, such that tension was reduced from the psyche of the operatives with confidence inspired that enabled them to attend to their functions without let or hindrance”.
“With this pandemic, the Command will upscale her sensitization on the need for Nigerians to fully take advantage of the operations in export trade, especially at this moment when it has become compelling for diversification of the economy for national development. We use this medium to remind Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the numerous incentives by the Federal Government in the area of export to draw and attract the consciousness of Nigerians to the advantages in export frade,” he added.
He stated: “With the Time Release Studies Tool, we have generated statistical data on the actual time declarations were made up till the time of Release from Customs Control. It is on the basis of this that the Command realised that the Nigeria Customs Service is only involved in two major functions in the Trade Value Chain (Examination and Release of Cargo) from Customs Control.