The National Single Window (NSW) project team has stated that recurring conflicts over overlapping regulatory mandates involving the harmonised system (HS) among government agencies regulating certain imported goods are creating multiple layers of approvals and delays in cargo clearance processes. Over six government agencies regulate imported goods at the country's ports, with those most challenged including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS).
Importers, customs agents, and freight forwarders lamented that multiple cargoes were trapped at the ports due to the inefficiencies of these agencies and their slow process of facilitating clearance on the digital platform. Although the NSW management acknowledged that the disruptions experienced after the launch of the system were largely caused by regulatory agencies' data migration difficulties, gaps in documentation, and overlapping regulatory mandates among government agencies, the NSW team disclosed that it received 9,800 cases of operational challenges on licence, permit, certificate, and other documents (LPCO) involving SON and NAFDAC, which have been resolved by 99 per cent.
Regulatory Overlaps and HS Code Harmonisation
Director of Operations of the NSW, Peter Ekunkoya, said the current problem is the long-standing regulatory overlaps among government agencies at the ports through the harmonisation of HS codes. He noted that while some overlap among agencies may be unavoidable due to the nature of certain products, the current level of duplication has created regulatory confusion and inefficiency. Ekunkoya explained that the World Customs Organisation (WCO) periodically reviews HS codes every three to four years to aid customs classification, valuation, and risk assessment processes globally. According to him, NAFDAC, SON, NAQS, and NESREA also rely on HS codes to determine the goods they regulate, inspect, or issue permits for.
Ekunkoya revealed that some agencies attempted to significantly expand the number of items under their regulatory control during discussions around the implementation of the NSW platform. He alleged that certain agencies increased the categories of items they intended to regulate from hundreds to thousands, despite lacking adequate personnel and operational capacity at the ports. Ekunkoya explained that a single product could fall under multiple regulatory jurisdictions, citing bottled water as an example. He noted that while its content may be classified as food for NAFDAC, its plastic container could also attract chemical or environmental regulation for SON and NESREA. Similarly, Ekunkoya said vehicles with batteries may attract oversight from both environmental and standards agencies because of concerns over waste management and product standards.
Revenue Generation Over Safety
Ekunkoya further criticised situations where agencies with safety or environmental mandates appeared to prioritise revenue generation over their core responsibilities. “When we did the analysis, some HS codes had about five different regulators. It is a waste of time and money. Agencies that are supposed to be thinking about safety are also thinking about money, which is a misnomer. If your job is safety, then safety should remain the focus,” he stated.
Head of Corporate Communications at the NSW, Femi Ogundoro, said efforts are underway to harmonise legal frameworks guiding the use of HS codes. Ogundoro cited a recent case involving the importation of newsprint by Punch Newspapers, where NAFDAC sought to approve the consignment despite questions over whether the product fell directly under its regulatory mandate. According to Ogundoro, the situation required intervention and consultations with relevant stakeholders to resolve the issue. He explained that the root of the problem lies in overlapping legal frameworks that empower multiple agencies to regulate the same consignment. Ogundoro further cited the example of NESREA, which regulates plastics, while some plastic materials also serve as inputs for products regulated by NAFDAC in food production. According to him, the overlaps create multiple layers of approvals and delays in cargo clearance processes. Ogundoro said legal teams under the NSW initiative are currently reviewing the frameworks establishing the various HS codes with the aim of harmonising agency responsibilities and reducing duplication.
