Eight weeks after launching its first phase, Nigeria’s National Single Window is gaining traction among importers and foreign air cargo operators, even as the onboarding of shipping lines pends completion.
- +Foreign carriers join Nigeria’s Single Window as importer adoption nears 7,000
As of May 22, the platform had registered 7,567 users, processed 39,039 licence, permit and certificate (LPC) submissions, and recorded 136 air cargo manifest filings from foreign carriers, according to figures from the NSW Secretariat.
As of May 22, the platform had registered 7,567 users, processed 39,039 licence, permit and certificate (LPC) submissions, and recorded 136 air cargo manifest filings from foreign carriers, according to figures from the NSW Secretariat.
Importers accounted for the bulk of registered users at 6,935, alongside 359 clearing and forwarding agents, 169 licensed customs agents and 104 freight forwarders.
On permit processing, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) dominated activity with 30,937 submissions, followed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) with 7,942. The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) recorded 138 submissions, while the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) accounted for 22.
The first phase of the rollout included air and sea manifest submissions, which were to be piloted for four weeks by air carrier DHL and shipping company Grimaldi operating the PTML Terminal in Lagos. So far, only air cargo manifests have been recorded, all adopted by foreign carriers.
Of the 136 manifests submitted, 121 were submitted by DHL, eight by Ethopian Air, three by Rwanda Air, and two by Egypt Air. British Airways and Royal Air Maroc both submitted one each. The data presented also showed that Air Côte d’Ivoire and Delta Airline were onboarded though yet to submit a manifest.
Cargo manifests progressively list, by port of destination, the contents of all the bills of lading issued at the port(s) of shipment.
In February this year, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) directed all cargo airline operators to integrate their operations with the NSW in line with a similar directive from the Ministry of Finance in 2025. Tola Fakolade, director of the NSW Secretariat, said it is still in talks with local airlines like Air Peace for integration. He added that a final test with all shipping lines will begin this week.
The digital platform launched with what the officials of the NSW Secretariat described as “teething problems” characterised by technical glitches and permits confirmation issues. The Secretariat said it received 9,800 complaints, averaging 1,500 in the first week alone which eventually dropped to 800 in the past month.
Operators who spoke to BusinessDay reported challenges uploading legitimate SON and NAFDAC documents and completing registrations, leading to delays. Peter Ekunkoya, director of operations at the NSW Secretariat, said it has resolved all but 135 of the complaints, of which 50 are under Service Level Agreements.
Some fixes were temporary. The secretariat and SON introduced a temporary default to address delays in attaching Shipment Certificates (SCs) during PAAR processing on the platform due to technical issues. Officials also met with the management of NAFDAC and agreed to allow importers to use their expired 2025 licenses till the end of May for their Form M applications. Importers with exhausted quotas but consignments at ports will also be able to submit verifiable shipping documents like a Bill of Lading.
Regulators including members of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the National Revenue Service met with terminal operators and shipping companies to secure waivers for importers for NSW-related demurrage and rent fees. Those efforts have largely been unsuccessful according to operators. “They will tell you to go ahead and pay. The more you delay, the more money you spend,” Sulaiman Ayokunle, senior special assistant on media to the president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) told BusinessDay.
Fakolade said the agreement was that importers and their clearing agents whose shipments were impacted by the NSW must prove it with time stamps, dates and all required documentation which will be reviewed by the terminal operators and shipper to determine eligibility for waivers in form of reduced charges or other forms of relief.
Over the next two months, the National Single Window plans to finalise the resolution of HS Codes overlaps between ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and commence the implementation of Phase 2 covering LCPs for outstanding MDAs and export.
