The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the commencement of a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for regulating courier companies operating under the Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Incoterm.
The Service, in a statement issued by its the National Public Relations Officer, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, indicated that the SOP provided a unified framework covering registration, manifest submission, declaration, valuation, clearance, delivery and compliance monitoring, in line with global best practices.
According to the Service, the DDP initiative derives its legal basis from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Incoterms 2020, relevant provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, the World Customs Organization (WCO) SAFE Framework of Standards, the Revised Kyoto Convention, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, the NCS Courier Clearance Guidelines, and the Nigeria Postal Service Act, 2023.
Under the new procedure, courier companies seeking to operate under the DDP regime are required to obtain a licence from the NCS’ Licence and Permit Unit under the Tariff and Trade Department, after which they must have submitted all mandatory documentation, including Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration documents, valid courier licences, compliance bonds and a formal application to operate under the DDP framework.
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The Service stated that licensed operators were mandated to submit an Advance Electronic Manifest (AEM), which must clearly indicate DDP as the applicable Incoterm and include complete shipment details such as Harmonised System (HS) codes, item descriptions, values, countries of origin and consignee information, in line with the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards at least 24 hours before the arrival of shipments.
In addition, the SOP further required courier companies to act as declarants by filing Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) through the B’Odogwú platform while declarations must reflect declared Free on Board (FOB) values and be supported by relevant documents, including invoices, airway bills and packing lists.
In addition, all applicable customs duties, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other statutory levies must be fully paid through authorised NCS payment channels prior to cargo clearance. Risk-based cargo profiling will guide inspections, with physical examinations conducted where discrepancies or high-risk indicators are identified. Delivery of consignments to consignees is permitted only after full clearance, and Proof of Delivery (POD) must be provided when requested.
To ensure compliance, the Service disclosed that it had put in place a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism through periodic Post-Clearance Audits (PCA), which will verify the accuracy of DDP declarations, prevent revenue leakages and ensure adherence to classification and valuation standards.
It cautioned that violations such as false declarations, non-payment of duties or operational misconduct would attract sanctions, including suspension or revocation of clearance licences, seizure of goods, penalties with interest and prosecution in accordance with the NCS Act, 2023.
With the latest initiative of the Service, courier operators are also required to submit monthly reports of all DDP shipments, detailing duty payments, classification information and delivery records, to the relevant Area Commands.
The NCS maintained that with the commencement of the SOP, it would be more committed to strengthening the integrity of the clearance process, enhancing revenue assurance, facilitating legitimate trade and ensuring that courier operations under the DDP regime comply with the highest global standards.
