The Nigeria Customs Service has introduced a Simplified Baggage Import Declaration System at the Seme Area Command as part of efforts to modernise passenger clearance and facilitate cross-border trade.
The digital platform is designed to speed up baggage processing, improve transparency and reduce delays for legitimate travellers and cross-border traders.
Passengers can now submit their declarations using mobile devices or through digital kiosks provided at the command.
The system uses standardised assessment tables to determine applicable duties on declared personal items, automatically generating receipts once payments are made.
The move is expected to reduce manual procedures and discretionary assessments while providing travellers with a more predictable clearance process.
According to the command’s Public Relations Officer, Tunde Ayagbalo, the system has already produced notable results, with average clearance times falling below five minutes since its introduction.
He said: “Within the first few days alone, revenue generated from passenger baggage declarations stood at N10.3 million with the automated system providing a direct and transparent channel for remitting duties to the Federation Account.”
Ayagbalo added that the digital system is being deployed alongside tighter enforcement, with enhanced risk management and intelligence-led controls targeting attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods as passenger baggage.
Seme Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said: “This deployment is part of our broader modernization agenda. We are determined to improve the passenger experience while safeguarding revenue and national security. Technology is the bridge between facilitation and enforcement.”
The command said the initiative further demonstrates the Customs Service’s commitment to transparency, accountability and efficient border operations.
