Who is Afraid of ICTN as Tool for Trade Facilitation?
AKutah, CEO, NSC
By Chinonso Apeh
In the next few months, precisely the second quarter of this year, the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) will be deployed in the nation’s seaports. It is a technology that is targeted at boosting trade and addressing issues of malpractices that have existed in the ports for decades. Spearheaded by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as the eye of the federal government and ports economic regulator, ICTN, is seen by many industry stakeholders as necessary to check all forms of corrupt practices at the ports through which government loses revenue to unscrupulous individuals and corporate bodies. But it is not without some traditional critics who claim it will lead to more costs as well as delays in goods clearance at the ports. This is one claim that has been clarified many times, but kept being played up by critics who appear to be afraid of ICTN. Yet, many stakeholders in consideration of the huge benefits to the national economy, are of the view that ICTN deployment is important. At one of the plenary sessions in the National Assembly, the Executive Secretary, NSC, Dr Akutah Pius Ukeyima MON, said the nation is losing huge revenue because of the delay in implementation of the ICTN. Akutah disclosed that the nation loses at least $500 million annually due to lack of implementation of ICTN. It would be recalled that the implementation was put on hold following investigation some years ago by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). With the investigation over, the federal government is now ready to implement the ICTN deployment. Already, critical stakeholders, including the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) believe that the implementation will boost trade facilitation in terms of efficiency and competitiveness in the ports.
To the NSC as the ports economic regulator, the concept of ICTN was as a result of the need for greater efficiency and transparency in the global supply chain. The Council believes that this is even moreso particularly as trade and commerce expanded given that 85 percent of global trade is through the seas in what has brought about some complexity in cargo management.
NSC explains that ICTN is an electronic system, a technology designed to ensure the traceability of goods across international borders, by assigning a unique identification number to each shipment. It is therefore a tool to enhance trade globally, an official explained.
The official added, “this mechanism enhances visibility and accountability in the shipping process, reducing opportunities for fraud, smuggling and theft, particularly in monitoring daily crude oil exports, importation of illicit drugs and arms into the country amongst other infractions.
“ICTN facilitates Customs clearance procedure by providing real-time updates that alert authorities to any discrepancies in cargo movement.
“ICTN was first introduced in 2010 during the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration .The intention was to combat illicit imports. But was later abandoned due to fraud allegations and stakeholder resistance/disagreements. But in 2019, the Federal Government citing the surge in illicit trade importation and the need to align with global standards mandated Nigerian Shippers Council as the Port Economic Regulator to fine tune grey areas and commence the project”.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of NSC, Akutah, who packaged the new ICTN believes it will bolster Nigeria’s security, enhance the federal government’s revenue from seaports. Besides, Akutah is of the view that ICTN aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as it is essentially targeted towards the diversification of the economy.
The ES disclosed that ICTN provides accurate and timely cargo information, adding that this enables Customs officials to “perform more effective inspections, clear goods faster thereby reducing delays which will further boost the country’s global rating in the maritime sector”.
Among the benefits of ICTN to the economy include the fact that it enhances cargo security while contributing to trade transparency. As a technology, it provides real-time cargo data, reducing smuggling, cargo under-declaration and trade fraud. ICTN equally strengthens the country’s supply chain security by ensuring cargo visibility from the port of loading to the port of destination, according to officials of the NSC.
One of the officials in defence of the technology and its deployment in Nigerian ports, further explained, “ICTN helps in efficient Customs clearance as the system enables pre-arrival processing, allowing regulatory agencies including Nigerian Customs to assess risks before cargo arrival. This leads to faster clearance time, reduced congestion at ports and lower demurrage costs for traders.
“ICTN ensures accurate cargo valuation, preventing revenue loss due to false declarations while blocking financial leakage caused by incorrect customs duties, levies and tariffs.
“Furthermore, many countries of the world including advanced economies have successfully deployed ICTN for effective cargo monitoring and for trade regulation. “It is imperative to state that Nigeria’s adoption of ICTN aligns with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and international maritime security standards”.
Critics have had to argue that ICTN has no legal backing, a statement the official dismissed. He said, “ If we do a retrospection especially on the mandate and role of Nigerian Shippers Council as Port Economic Regulator, it becomes apparent that as a regulator the Council is empowered to introduce mechanisms that enhance trade facilitation”.
He also said that ICTN is not a duplication of existing processes but a complementary tool that aligns with Nigeria’s Customs and Port Regulatory network. “The technology widely used in other climes streamlines cargo inspection and clearance through automated pre-arrival information”, he said.
He continued, “It is therefore important to state here that ICTN is an additional regulatory mechanism which works in synergy with customs systems to enhance compliance, risk assessment, and trade efficiency.
“Finally, it has become propitious to inform the “doubting Thomases” in the industry that the new ICTN is not to stifle trade but to support the Federal Government economic and security agenda. The recent upsurge in arms and drug importation calls for total support by all and sundry. The key benefit of ICTN is to protect Nigerians from drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other contrabands that aid insecurity. It is for the interest and benefit of the economy, to Nigerians and most importantly to industry stakeholders to embrace the ICTN implementation maximally so as to grow our Marine and Blue Economy”.
In the next few months, precisely the second quarter of this year, the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) will be deployed in the nation’s seaports. It is a technology that is targeted at boosting trade and addressing issues of malpractices that have existed in the ports for decades. Spearheaded by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as the eye of the federal government and ports economic regulator, ICTN, is seen by many industry stakeholders as necessary to check all forms of corrupt practices at the ports through which government loses revenue to unscrupulous individuals and corporate bodies. But it is not without some traditional critics who claim it will lead to more costs as well as delays in goods clearance at the ports. This is one claim that has been clarified many times, but kept being played up by critics who appear to be afraid of ICTN. Yet, many stakeholders in consideration of the huge benefits to the national economy, are of the view that ICTN deployment is important. At one of the plenary sessions in the National Assembly, the Executive Secretary, NSC, Dr Akutah Pius Ukeyima MON, said the nation is losing huge revenue because of the delay in implementation of the ICTN. Akutah disclosed that the nation loses at least $500 million annually due to lack of implementation of ICTN. It would be recalled that the implementation was put on hold following investigation some years ago by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). With the investigation over, the federal government is now ready to implement the ICTN deployment. Already, critical stakeholders, including the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) believe that the implementation will boost trade facilitation in terms of efficiency and competitiveness in the ports.
To the NSC as the ports economic regulator, the concept of ICTN was as a result of the need for greater efficiency and transparency in the global supply chain. The Council believes that this is even moreso particularly as trade and commerce expanded given that 85 percent of global trade is through the seas in what has brought about some complexity in cargo management.
NSC explains that ICTN is an electronic system, a technology designed to ensure the traceability of goods across international borders, by assigning a unique identification number to each shipment. It is therefore a tool to enhance trade globally, an official explained.
The official added, “this mechanism enhances visibility and accountability in the shipping process, reducing opportunities for fraud, smuggling and theft, particularly in monitoring daily crude oil exports, importation of illicit drugs and arms into the country amongst other infractions.
“ICTN facilitates Customs clearance procedure by providing real-time updates that alert authorities to any discrepancies in cargo movement.
“ICTN was first introduced in 2010 during the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration .The intention was to combat illicit imports. But was later abandoned due to fraud allegations and stakeholder resistance/disagreements. But in 2019, the Federal Government citing the surge in illicit trade importation and the need to align with global standards mandated Nigerian Shippers Council as the Port Economic Regulator to fine tune grey areas and commence the project”.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of NSC, Akutah, who packaged the new ICTN believes it will bolster Nigeria’s security, enhance the federal government’s revenue from seaports. Besides, Akutah is of the view that ICTN aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as it is essentially targeted towards the diversification of the economy.
The ES disclosed that ICTN provides accurate and timely cargo information, adding that this enables Customs officials to “perform more effective inspections, clear goods faster thereby reducing delays which will further boost the country’s global rating in the maritime sector”.
Among the benefits of ICTN to the economy include the fact that it enhances cargo security while contributing to trade transparency. As a technology, it provides real-time cargo data, reducing smuggling, cargo under-declaration and trade fraud. ICTN equally strengthens the country’s supply chain security by ensuring cargo visibility from the port of loading to the port of destination, according to officials of the NSC.
One of the officials in defence of the technology and its deployment in Nigerian ports, further explained, “ICTN helps in efficient Customs clearance as the system enables pre-arrival processing, allowing regulatory agencies including Nigerian Customs to assess risks before cargo arrival. This leads to faster clearance time, reduced congestion at ports and lower demurrage costs for traders.
“ICTN ensures accurate cargo valuation, preventing revenue loss due to false declarations while blocking financial leakage caused by incorrect customs duties, levies and tariffs.
“Furthermore, many countries of the world including advanced economies have successfully deployed ICTN for effective cargo monitoring and for trade regulation. “It is imperative to state that Nigeria’s adoption of ICTN aligns with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and international maritime security standards”.
Critics have had to argue that ICTN has no legal backing, a statement the official dismissed. He said, “ If we do a retrospection especially on the mandate and role of Nigerian Shippers Council as Port Economic Regulator, it becomes apparent that as a regulator the Council is empowered to introduce mechanisms that enhance trade facilitation”.
He also said that ICTN is not a duplication of existing processes but a complementary tool that aligns with Nigeria’s Customs and Port Regulatory network. “The technology widely used in other climes streamlines cargo inspection and clearance through automated pre-arrival information”, he said.
He continued, “It is therefore important to state here that ICTN is an additional regulatory mechanism which works in synergy with customs systems to enhance compliance, risk assessment, and trade efficiency.
“Finally, it has become propitious to inform the “doubting Thomases” in the industry that the new ICTN is not to stifle trade but to support the Federal Government economic and security agenda. The recent upsurge in arms and drug importation calls for total support by all and sundry. The key benefit of ICTN is to protect Nigerians from drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other contrabands that aid insecurity. It is for the interest and benefit of the economy, to Nigerians and most importantly to industry stakeholders to embrace the ICTN implementation maximally so as to grow our Marine and Blue Economy”.
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