The Nigeria Customs Service NCS has accepted responsibility over recent temporary glitch that delayed importers and licensed customs agents from transmitting their Pre-Arrival Assessment Report PAAR for regulated product certificate for Form M and Standards Organisation of Nigeria Product Crtificate SONCAP, which are basic requirements for processing the pre-arrival certificate on the BÓdogwu platform.

Recall that in a bid to continuously support stakeholders, the NCS had rolled out nationwide implementation of the B’Odogwu platform across Zones A, B, C, and D, with trained officers on ground to provide hands-on technical assistance to traders and licensed agents.

The Service explained that the disruptions occurred in the process of onboarding of the SON on the B’Odogwu platform, which was done on July 23, 2025.

According to a statement by the Customs Image Maker, Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, 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.

He noted that 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 Service further disclosed that as at Wednesday, August 6, 2025, the NCS and SON have successfully resolved the transmission issues, as product certificates and SONCAP documents are currently being transmitted seamlessly while the backlog of affected transactions is being cleared.

The Service has therefore reiterated its commitment to transparency, collaboration and robust stakeholders’ engagement while efforts would be made towards the continuous training and retraining of officers.

The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to concerns raised by importers and licensed customs agents regarding recent delays experienced in the transmission of Product Certificates for Form M and SONCAP required for PAAR processing on the B’Odogwu platform.

“The NCS acknowledges that the disruption followed technical integration challenges that emerged during the process of onboarding the Standards 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.

Nigeria Customs remains committed to transparency, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement. Regular training sessions for stakeholders are ongoing across various commands. These sessions not only build user capacity but also serve as a channel for surfacing and resolving operational challenges on the platform.”