Customs resolve import clearance glitch on B’Odogwu platform

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that it has resolved the delays recently experienced by importers in transmitting product certificates for Form M and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP), which are essential for Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) processing on the B’Odogwu platform.

In a statement on Thursday, the National Public Relations Officer of the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, explained that the disruption arose from technical integration challenges encountered during the onboarding of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) onto the B’Odogwu platform on July 23, 2025.

He noted that the system-related issues had temporarily hindered traders’ ability to accurately capture their Form M, PAAR, and Single Goods Declaration (SGD) details.

“The attention of the NCS has been drawn to concerns raised by importers and licensed customs agents regarding recent delays experienced in the transmission of product certificates for Form M and SONCAP required for PAAR processing on the B’Odogwu platform. The service acknowledges that the disruption followed technical integration challenges that emerged during the process of onboarding the SON on the B’Odogwu platform on July 23, 2025. These system-related issues temporarily impacted traders’ ability to accurately capture their Form M, PAAR, and SGD,” Maiwada stated.

According to him, the specific challenges included insufficient space for trader names, incorrect data formatting, missing 10-digit product codes, unclear error messages, and difficulties linking the Tax Identification Number (TIN) to traders’ profiles.

“While NCS was able to promptly resolve the issues within its system, further coordination was required to complete the resolution on SON’s side,” he added.

Maiwada confirmed that both agencies have now successfully resolved the transmission issues, and product certificates as well as SONCAP documents are being transmitted without hindrance. He further noted that the backlog of affected transactions is being cleared.

To ensure continuous stakeholder support, the NCS has implemented the nationwide rollout of the B’Odogwu platform across Zones A, B, C, and D. Trained officers are stationed in these zones to provide hands-on technical assistance to traders and licensed agents.

The NCS spokesperson reaffirmed the service’s commitment to transparency, collaboration, and active stakeholder engagement. He also revealed that regular training sessions are ongoing across various customs commands to enhance user capacity and provide a direct channel for addressing operational challenges on the platform.