Customs automates licences and permits issuance to cut costs and boost revenue

The Nigeria Customs Service has automated the issuance of its licences and permits to cut the cost of doing business, save importers, clearing and forwarding agents the stress of acquiring or renewing their licenses and permits, and eradicate fraudulent practices in the system.

The automation is also designed to save time, enhance the statutory revenue generation duties and elicit more efficiency and productivity from the officers.

Dr. Ngozika Anozie, Comptroller of Customs, Licence & Permit Unit, Tariff & Trade Department, made this known at a stakeholders’ engagement on the automation of licenses and permits at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, on Monday, February 23, 2026.

Anozie said the automation is necessary as it will bring about ease of doing business in the maritime sector specifically and would translate into a boost in the generation of the much-needed revenue for Customs and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

She said the automation is yet another important point scored, in the innovation-driven Modernization process of the Nigeria Customs Service, by this administration and that point is “The automation of the process of acquiring and renewal of Licenses and permits”.

According to her, the benefits of automation of Licenses and Permits, are but not limited to the followings:

Automation will save importers, clearing and forwarding agents the stress of acquiring or renewing their Licenses and Permits as they would be sitting in the comfort of their offices/homes to initiate and complete the process. Officers & men of License and Permit Unit, the bond seat unit of various Commands will also be saved some stress, as all their responsibilities would just be ‘clicks’ on the systems in front of their desks, as opposed to carrying loads of files from one table to another and from one office to the other.

Automation will cut the cost of doing business and minimize movement risks for our stakeholders. They would no longer be jumping on buses or flights to and fro Customs Headquarters-Abuja, paying hotel bills plus feeding for days, to obtain or renew their licenses and permits.

Automation will minimize, if not eradicate fraudulent practices in the system, as every single document that is uploaded in the course of this process will be automatically rejected by default, if it is fake and accepted if it is genuine. L&P can now view assessments through the B’Odogwu to be sure that any company applying for fresh or renewal of licences or permits is not having unpaid assessments hanging on it. The CGC is poised to sanitize the system and we, at L&P Unit are very passionate about this, to ensure that objective is achieved.

Automation saves time. “Time na Money” is a popular saying and we can’t agree less with this pidgin adage in this instance. Our stakeholders will now have the luxury of using the time they would have expended running from one Command to the other or to Customs headquarters Abuja, to achieve other equally useful objectives in their business value chain that would impact the growth and expansion of their businesses.

Ultimately, this automation will enhance the statutory revenue generation duties of the Nigeria Customs Service, because fees are paid into the coffers of government with every single licence and permit processed; imports are made with the permits, the clearing processes are stamped with the licences given and obviously, revenue is generated. So, the more licences and permit we issue or renew, the more revenue we would generate for NCS and Nigeria economy.

Automation elicits more efficiency and productivity from the officers as they leverage on the seamlessness of the process to work on more documents in minutes with greater output. The advantages of automation are just endless.

She appealed to the officers of the Service, whose schedule of duties interface with Licences and Permits Unit, to embrace this automation, to enable us achieve the desired objectives. She also appealed to stakeholders to embrace this automation.

“The success of this programme adds to the many success stories of the Comptroller General of Customs and his management team and their success is our collective success, as officers and men of the Service. I also appeal to our esteemed stakeholders to embrace this automation with both hands, because the Service has their interest at heart for this innovative process.

“Let me assure you all, that this automation process is simple and seamless. The bond seat officers of various Customs Area Commands have been trained before now for this automation process; but we are here to refresh their memories on it once more, so that we will all be on the same pedestal as we apply and utilize it.”

In his keynote address, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs Muhammed Babandede, Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, said the automation marks the beginning of a new chapter in how the Nigeria Customs Service delivers its licences and permits services to stakeholders.

Babandede informed that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, approved the full automation of the Licences and Permits processes of the Service. “This is a direct response to the long-standing need to make our processes faster, more transparent, and easier for the people we serve. For many years, stakeholders have had to deal with paperwork, long queues, and the uncertainty that comes with manual processing. Those days are coming to an end,” said he.

He noted that the sensitisation exercise would be held across all Zones from today. According to him, “The goal is simple: to make sure that every stakeholder understands the new automated system before it is implemented.

“For stakeholders, automation means that you will no longer have to go to a Customs office simply to apply for or renew a licence or permit. You will be able to do this from your office or even from your phone.

“It means your applications will be processed faster. It means you will be able to track the status of your application in real time. And it means that the process will be the same for everyone — fair, consistent, and without the risk of error that comes with manual records.

“For the Service, automation means better record keeping, easier supervision, and the ability to serve more Stakeholders at once without increasing the burden on our officers.

“We are not just automating a process; we are transforming the way we serve Nigeria’s trade community. This is a step forward in that direction.”