The Nigeria Customs Service and their Benin Republic counterparts have decided to network and combine their digital communication platform to make room for trade facilitation and reduce smuggling.

The Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Zone ‘A’, Benjamin Aber, made this known during a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme between Nigeria Customs Service and Benin Customs at Seme on Tuesday.

According to him, the two Customs operators have succeeded with the use of modern tools for the inter-border clearance of goods to answer all the questions involved in inter-border trading.

He said that Customs declaration should be done once and there would be a single declaration for both countries

“The system will deal with corrupt tendencies and security will increase.

“The electronic connectivity will facilitate trade and reduce the cost of doing business while security will be boosted.

“Deployment of non-intrusive equipment such as scanners will deal with the challenges of trans-border crimes including insurgencies.

“The electronic platform will integrate the two countries Single Windows trade platforms and also improve the compliance to trade regulatory and fiscal policy measures of both countries.”