Nigeria Customs Deploys Simplified Baggage Declaration System at Seme Command

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has deployed a Simplified Baggage Import Declaration System at the Seme Area Command as part of efforts to modernise passenger clearance and improve cross-border trade.

The new digital system is designed to simplify baggage declarations, reduce clearance time and improve transparency for passengers and legitimate cross-border traders using the Seme border.

Under the initiative, passengers can begin their declarations using mobile devices or complete the process through designated digital kiosks at the command.

The system uses standardised assessment tables to determine applicable duties on declared personal goods. It also automatically calculates the amount payable and generates receipts after payment.

According to the command’s Public Relations Officer, Tunde Ayagbalo, the digital process has significantly reduced clearance times since its rollout, with average passenger baggage clearance reportedly taking less than five minutes.

Ayagbalo said the command generated ₦10.3 million in revenue from passenger baggage declarations within the first few days of the system’s implementation.

He said the automated platform provides a direct channel for the payment and remittance of duties to the Federation Account, reducing manual processes and improving transparency.

The simplified declaration system is being implemented alongside strengthened enforcement measures. The command said enhanced risk management and intelligence-led controls remain in place to detect attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods as passenger baggage.

Seme Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said the deployment forms part of the NCS modernisation agenda, with technology being used to improve passenger experience while protecting government revenue and national security.

“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,” Kaila said.

The command said the initiative further demonstrates the Customs Service’s commitment to transparency, accountability and more efficient border management.