By Onu Okorie
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has commenced full implementation of the Simplified Declaration for Passenger Baggage Import, cutting average passenger baggage clearance time to less than five minutes.
The digital initiative is part of the Service’s efforts to modernise border operations, facilitate legitimate travel and cross-border trade, improve transparency and strengthen revenue collection.
Since its deployment, the Command has generated ₦10.34 million in revenue from passenger baggage declarations alone, providing an automated channel for the collection of applicable duties into the Federation Account.
Under the new system, passengers can initiate baggage declarations using their mobile devices or complete the process at designated digital kiosks at the Seme border.
Declared personal goods are assessed using standardised and pre-programmed valuation tables, with the system automatically calculating applicable duties and generating receipts after payment.
The Customs Service said the system was designed to reduce manual processes and discretionary assessments while giving passengers a more predictable and transparent clearance procedure.
The average turnaround time of under five minutes represents a significant change from more cumbersome manual baggage declaration procedures, particularly for travellers carrying dutiable goods.
The system enables passengers to complete key stages of the declaration process electronically, reducing physical paperwork and accelerating clearance.
The Command said the ₦10,340,260.02 collected within the first few days of implementation demonstrated the revenue potential of deploying technology to passenger processing.
The automated system also creates a direct digital trail for declarations, assessments, payments and receipts, strengthening accountability in the collection of customs duties.
While accelerating passenger processing, the Command said the new system would not compromise border security or customs enforcement.
It said the simplified declaration process was being implemented alongside enhanced risk management and intelligence-led controls designed to identify attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods as passenger baggage.
The Command will continue to monitor passenger movements and baggage while working with other agencies operating along the Seme border corridor to prevent smuggling and other forms of illicit cross-border trade.
Customs said the objective was to ensure that genuine passengers and legitimate traders benefit from faster processing while enforcement resources are concentrated on high-risk consignments and suspected violations.
The Customs Area Controller, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said the initiative reflected the commitment of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to using technology and innovative processes to improve border management.
According to him, digitalisation would promote trade facilitation, transparency, accountability and compliance, while supporting the Service’s revenue and economic protection mandates.
Kaila encouraged passengers, cross-border traders and other members of the trading community to use the simplified declaration platform and comply with applicable customs requirements.
He assured travellers that legitimate movement of people and goods would continue to receive the necessary facilitation within the framework of national security and economic protection.
The deployment at Seme further underscores the Customs Service’s broader transition from predominantly manual border procedures towards technology-driven clearance, risk management and revenue collection.