The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has launched Fast Track 2.0, a trade facilitation policy that will boost Nigeria’s ease of doing business efforts just as it insisted that all cargoes must come into Nigeria through the ports.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja yesterday, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali Rtd, said that with the launch of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, all cargoes coming through the waterways must pass through the ports.
He said Fast Track 2.0 was conceived to create a unique model capable of satisfying the needs of a crucial sector of the economy dedicated to the local production of goods.
“The Fast Track regime was conceptualized, designed, and deployed for manufacturers who have shown high levels of compliance in their trade dealings with Customs.
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“FT 2.0 was therefore designed to admit traders irrespective of the nature of their trade on the basis of compliance alone. Its potential for encouraging traders to play by the rules is significant as it promises huge rewards, especially in the areas of drastic cost reductions associated with cargo handling and demurrage at the ports.
Over a period of six months the Service carried out sensitization programs in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Kano with a view to informing the trading public about this latest version of FT 2.0, and the roles and responsibilities expected of all parties in the clearance chain,” he explained
He added that the FT 2.0 is a precursor to the introduction of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Scheme which guarantees even more benefits for compliant traders.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, said the remarkable feat by the Nigerian Customs will aid the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
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