Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has granted a 120-day grace period to importers with overtime consignments, allowing them to clear their goods without incurring additional costs.
This move is aimed at easing the clearance process and reducing
congestion at the ports.
Importers are advised to take advantage of this window to
regularize their documents and clear their consignments, the NCS said.
It urged importers to comply with the deadline to avoid forfeiting
their goods to the Federal Government.
This development is expected to boost trade facilitation and
improve the overall efficiency of the customs clearance process.
Under the Customs and Excise Management Act, CEMA, a cargo is an
overtime if the importer fails to clear it after 120 days of arrival at the
port. All overtime cargo are subject to seizure.
Cargo exceeding 30 days, according to the newly introduced
automation of overtime cargo and clearance system, would be considered
“overtime” but may still be cleared within an additional 30 days after
application and approval by the relevant Customs Area Controller (CAC).
Where a consignment remains undeclared within 60 days,
clearance would require approval from the Assistant Comptroller General/Zonal
Coordinator upon application.
This clearance opportunity would be valid within 90 days
from arrival, but an additional 30-day grace period is given within which it
would require approval from Customs Headquarters, upon application.
However, customs would commence the disposal process for
consignments not cleared within 120 days.
Speaking at a Sensitization Exercise with Stakeholders on
the automation of overtime cargo and clearance system, the Comptroller General
of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, explained that more than half of the
complaints he receives daily are related to overtime cargoes congesting
Nigerian ports.
Adeniyi disclosed that overtime cargoes are a significant
challenge, with some cases dating back nearly 15 years, adding that despite
collecting N6.3 trillion in revenue in 2024, less than 1% came from overtime
cargo sales.
The Customs boss stressed that the Service’s goal is not
revenue from auction sales but efficient port operations.
“We are more interested in exiting the cargoes from the
ports rather than having them as overtime,” he remarked.
On deliberate cargo abandonment, Adeniyi warned; “We know
some people exploit the system. Our intelligence units will stay alert, and we
will not allow criminals to hijack this process.”
Also speaking, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs,
Isah Umar, described the automated system as a defining moment that would break
long-standing barriers in the management and disposal of overtime cargo.
He said the dynamic nature of port operations made it
necessary to constantly review and upgrade clearance procedures to align with
emerging technologies and global best practices.
Umar noted that the repeal of the old Customs and Excise
Management Act (CEMA) and the enactment of the NCS Act 2023 had created a fresh
mandate for the Service to modernize its overtime cargo procedures.
“This end-to-end automation is not just a reform; it is a
transformation that demands active collaboration between Customs and
stakeholders across the import and export sectors,” he said.
He listed the benefits of the automated system to include
greater transparency, improved data integrity, elimination of bottlenecks,
reduced human interference, and harmonized documentation.
On his part, General Manager, Ports and Terminal
Multiservices Limited (PTML), Mr. Babatunde Keshiro recommended that the
automated system should be structured in a way that prevent deliberate
jettisoning of goods at port for overtime to invade import duty and other port
charges.
He, however, assured that PTML will continue to partner with
the NCS in ensuring the new automated system works perfectly, even as he added
that the new system should be institutionalized.
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