The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that the transmission of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) certificate on the B’Odogwu platform has been restored.
This comes after concerns were raised by importers and licensed customs agents regarding recent delays in the transmission of Product Certificates for Form M and SONCAP, which are required for PAAR processing on the B’Odogwu platform.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Assistant Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, he acknowledged that the disruption resulted from technical integration challenges that emerged during the process of onboarding the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (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 Single Goods Declaration (SGD). Specific challenges encountered included limited space for trader names, incorrect data formatting, missing 10-digit product codes, ambiguous error prompts, 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. The Nigeria Customs Service is pleased to confirm that as of Wednesday, August 6, 2025, both agencies have successfully resolved the transmission issues,” AC Maiwada stated.
He also affirmed that Product Certificates and SONCAP documents are now being transmitted seamlessly and that the backlog of affected transactions is being cleared.
“In a bid to continuously support stakeholders, the NCS has rolled out nationwide implementation of the B’Odogwu platform across Zones A, B, C, and D, with trained officers on the ground to provide hands-on technical assistance to traders and licensed agents,” the spokesperson said.
Maiwada reiterated the Service‘s commitment to transparency, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement, while revealing that regular training sessions for stakeholders are ongoing across various commands.
He added: “These sessions not only build user capacity but also serve as a channel for surfacing and resolving operational challenges on the platform.”
