The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified efforts to reform its Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) regime, seeking greater compliance, faster cargo clearance and stronger revenue protection through a shift from physical intervention at the ports to post-release verification.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos at the PCA Sensitisation Programme, themed, “Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Reform for Greater Compliance, Transparency and Revenue Protection.”
Adeniyi said the reform is driven by the need to balance the Federal Government’s objective of increasing non-oil revenue with its efforts to reduce the cost and friction associated with doing business in Nigeria.
According to him, Customs is expected to “collect more” while simultaneously “obstructing less”, making it necessary to adopt a system that does not rely heavily on stopping and physically examining consignments before release.
He explained that PCA allows the Service to verify traders’ compliance after goods have been released, thereby reducing unnecessary delays at the ports while still providing an avenue for Customs to detect infractions and recover revenue where necessary.
The CGC said a recent Time Release Study conducted at Tin Can Island Port had provided further evidence supporting the approach, revealing that containers spent an average of about five days at the port before physical exit, while physical examination itself took only a matter of hours.
The study, which followed 601 import declarations from arrival to physical exit, involved shipping lines, terminal operators, the Nigerian Ports Authority, licensed agents, banks and other stakeholders.
Adeniyi said 98.7 per cent of the consignments examined recorded an interval of nearly four days between booking for examination and physical exit, indicating that the major sources of delay were manual processes, fragmented coordination and waiting time across the clearance chain.
He said the findings had reinforced the need to reduce the number of consignments requiring intervention at the port by using post-clearance verification for transactions that do not require physical examination.
Adeniyi also highlighted the growing impact of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme, saying 247 companies had so far been admitted into the scheme.
He disclosed that 15 of the participating companies had made voluntary disclosures, generating more than ₦1 billion in revenue for the government.
The CGC said the programme had also significantly reduced clearance times for participating businesses, with their average clearance period dropping from about 156 hours before admission to 43 hours.
According to him, the 247 AEO companies generated more than ₦3 trillion in revenue for the Service in 2025, representing about 43 per cent of its total revenue for the year.
Adeniyi said expanding the AEO programme would allow Customs to concentrate its enforcement resources on non-compliant traders while giving compliant businesses faster and more predictable clearance.
He noted that PCA is supported by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, the Revised Kyoto Convention and Article 7.5 of the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
He added that Nigeria’s implementation commitment under the WTO agreement currently stands at 94.1 per cent, with a timetable running to 2029.
According to him, the framework requires audit findings to feed into Customs’ risk-management system, allowing information obtained through PCA to improve the Service’s ability to identify high-risk consignments while reducing unnecessary intervention on compliant traders.
He urged businesses to maintain accurate records, make truthful declarations and comply with applicable laws, while encouraging voluntary disclosure and prompt correction of errors.
He announced that similar stakeholder engagements would be held in other parts of the country, including Kano and Port Harcourt, as the Service continues to deepen awareness and understanding of the PCA regime.
The Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of PCA, Babatunde Olomu, said the Nigeria Customs Service recovered ₦27.2 billion through PCA interventions between August 2025 and August 2026, representing a 27.7 per cent increase from the ₦21.3 billion recovered during the corresponding period.
Olomu also acknowledged the technical support provided by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), saying the partnership had strengthened the Service’s risk-based targeting approach, case management, quality assurance, standardisation and professional capacity of its officers.
As part of the capacity-building efforts, Olomu disclosed that Customs officers would undertake peer-to-peer learning with the Kenya Revenue Authority to exchange practical experiences, benchmark international best practices and further strengthen the Service’s institutional capacity.
He said the initiative was being supported through collaboration involving the Nigeria Customs Service, the WCO and the World Bank Group.
Olomu urged stakeholders to actively participate in the PCA engagement, stressing that the success of the audit regime depended not only on Customs but also on mutual trust, cooperation and voluntary compliance from the trading community.
He said stakeholders’ experiences and constructive feedback remained essential to developing a PCA framework capable of protecting government revenue while supporting legitimate businesses and facilitating trade.
Assistant Comptroller G.O. Attah, who spoke on the legal framework of PCA at the sensitisation programme, said the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 remains the primary legal instrument guiding the conduct of PCA.
He noted that the framework is further supported by NCS Procedure 1.1, the World Customs Organisation PCA Guidelines Volumes 1 and 2, Article 7.5 of the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement and the Revised Kyoto Convention.
According to him, Sections 36 to 40 of the NCS Act provide for the establishment and conduct of PCA, including the rights and obligations of Customs and traders, trader-system audits, notification of customs debts and related procedures.
Attah explained that PCA is not restricted to importers, exporters, freight forwarders and customs agents, but extends to banks and other financial institutions, transport companies, warehouse operators and other persons directly or indirectly involved in transactions relating to imported or exported goods.
He said audits could be conducted through desk-based reviews or on-site examinations, depending on the circumstances of each case.
Attah identified several contraventions that may arise under the PCA regime, including undervaluation of goods, incorrect tariff classification, false declaration of ownership, misuse of duty exemptions, non-declaration of goods, fraudulent documentation and diversion of bonded goods.
He said refusal to comply with a clearance audit request attracts a ₦1.5 million fine, while continued refusal beyond seven days could lead to suspension from Customs transactions.
Attah added that entering goods at less than the legally applicable duty attracts a penalty equivalent to 25 per cent of the duty liability.
He further warned that the use of counterfeit Customs documents for fraudulent purposes could attract a ₦10 million fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
Attah also encouraged businesses to cooperate with audit requests and use findings from the process to address weaknesses in their compliance systems.
