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Seme Customs Rolls Out Digital Baggage Declaration Platform to Cut Clearance Time to Under Five Minutes
By Prince Benson Davies
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Seme Area Command, has commenced full operationalization of the Simplified Declaration for Passenger Baggage Import as part of the Service’s commitment to digital innovation, trade facilitation and improved passenger clearance processes.
The new system is designed to simplify declaration and assessment of passenger baggage, reduce clearance time, enhance transparency and facilitate the movement of legitimate travellers and cross-border traders through the Seme border corridor.
According to the Command, the simplified system allows passengers to initiate baggage declarations through mobile devices or complete the process at designated digital kiosks within the Command. The platform applies standardized and pre-programmed assessment tables to declared personal goods, automatically calculating applicable duties and generating receipts upon payment.
The deployment, the Command explained, is aimed at reducing manual processes and discretionary assessment, while providing passengers with a transparent, predictable and efficient process for clearing dutiable goods.
Since the commencement of the initiative, the Seme Area Command has recorded an average passenger baggage clearance turnaround time of under five minutes, reflecting the positive impact of digital processing on passenger facilitation. Within the first few days of implementation, the Command generated N10,340,260.02 (Ten million, three hundred and forty thousand, two hundred and sixty naira, two kobo) in revenue from passenger baggage declarations alone, with the automated process providing a direct and transparent channel for collection of duties payable to the Federation Account.
The Command noted that the deployment of the simplified baggage declaration system is being implemented alongside strengthened enforcement measures to ensure that trade facilitation does not compromise border security or compliance with customs laws. Through enhanced risk management and intelligence-led controls, it continues to identify and intercept attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods as passenger baggage.
The Command reiterated that the initiative forms part of its broader efforts to modernize customs operations, improve passenger experience and strengthen revenue collection through transparent and technology-driven processes.
It added that it will continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and sister agencies operating at the Seme border corridor to ensure smooth movement of legitimate passengers and goods, while maintaining effective controls against smuggling and other forms of cross-border illicit trade.
The Customs Area Controller, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, reaffirmed the commitment of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, to deploying technology and innovative processes that promote trade facilitation, transparency, accountability and compliance at the border.
The Command encouraged passengers, cross-border traders and members of the trading community to take advantage of the simplified declaration system and comply with applicable customs requirements, while assuring the public that legitimate travel and commerce will continue to receive necessary facilitation within the framework of national security and economic protection.
