ABUJA – Dr Emmanuel Oparah, the National Secretary, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), has commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its effectiveness in the implementation of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
Oparah told newsmen that NCS had demonstrated high level of competence in the handling of pre-shipment inspection known as PAAR in the last one year.
He said that the Federal Government was losing money when the destination inspection was in the hands of service providers, adding that PAAR had blocked all the possible revenue leakages.
“PAAR has come to stay and it is better than what we used to have because RAR cannot in any way be compared to the PAAR as far as I am concerned.
“PAAR is our own; RAR is foreign investment and that investment is not for the benefit of our economy.
“We are not spending money on PAAR; Nigeria is not losing money on PAAR but we were losing money on RAR so there is nothing to compare PAAR and RAR; there is no comparison between both.
“The effectiveness of PAAR and its benefits to the players in the industry is 100 per cent,” he said.
Oparah said that the issue of server breakdown was a problem to the service, adding that the network functioned according to the weather which could not be blamed on anybody.
He expressed confidence in the reform agenda of the customs boss, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, aimed at facilitating trade into the country.
Oparah, however, urged the service to continue to improve on its current achievements and do more to enhance effective service delivery in line with international best practices.