‎‎By Efe Onodjae

‎‎The Nigeria Single Window (NSW) has advised importers and their clearing agents to process all regulatory documents before their cargo arrives at Nigerian ports, stressing that pre-arrival processing remains one of the most effective ways to achieve faster cargo clearance and reduce congestion.

‎‎Speaking on behalf of the NSW technical team, the Project Director, Tola Fakolade, said in an exclusive interview with Vanguard that many delays experienced by importers are often self-induced, as they wait until their cargo arrives before commencing regulatory documentation and approval processes.

‎‎According to him, cargo clearance consists of two major stages: the pre-arrival stage and the arrival stage.

‎‎Using a typical import transaction from China as an example, he noted that cargo transported by sea often spends between six weeks and three months in transit, providing sufficient time for importers to complete necessary approvals before the vessel reaches Nigeria.

‎‎“Most importers do not take advantage of the transit period. If a cargo is going to spend six weeks or even three months on the vessel, that is valuable time that should be used to obtain all regulatory approvals. Doing so will significantly reduce delays when the cargo arrives at the port.

‎‎“Under the NSW platform, several regulatory processes previously carried out after cargo arrival has now been moved to the pre-arrival stage. For the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), importers traditionally obtain relevant certificates and permits before processing the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAR). However, some additional procedures, including requests for inspection fees and demand notes, were often completed only after cargo arrival.

‎‎“These processes have now been integrated into the PAR workflow. Ideally, it should be completed before the cargo arrives. What we have done is move several activities that used to take place at the port to the pre-arrival stage so importers can resolve any issues before the vessel gets here,” he explained.

‎‎According to him, the same approach has been adopted for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), where release-note processing previously commenced only after customs declarations and duty payments had been completed.‎‎“Before now, importers would process their customs declaration, pay duty and then begin NAFDAC procedures after the cargo had arrived. We have moved those approvals to the pre-arrival stage. The goal is to ensure that once the cargo arrives, most of the regulatory requirements have already been completed,” he said. ‎