Following recent reports that the online application portal for Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has been malfunctioning and causing hardship to freight forwarder, SON has refuted such claims, describing it as a blatant lie.
A veteran freight forwarder and Deputy National President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto had disclosed in a meeting with newsmen in Lagos, that the e-platform had collapsed.
The portal is used for the operation of the offshore Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP) for processing of SON regulated imports into Nigeria.
A statement from the office of the Director General, Osita Aboloma stressed that the criticism was emanating from importers who fail to comply with the pre-shipment process as they have accumulated demmurage on their consignments.
According to the statement signed by the Head, Public Relations (SON), Bola Fashina, the portal was recently upgraded to ensure optimal performance, enhance a seamless operation and more efficient service delivery to customers and stakeholders.
Fashina, disclosed that some of the advantages the upgraded SONCAP portal offers are: a one-stop-shop that provides clients opportunity to apply, track application, send messages to SON and receive responses as well upload evidence of payments seamlessly, profile of the work done and documents used for application are available on Clients’ dashboard
The upgraded portal has also eliminated errors on Tax Identification Number (TIN) error and previous mistakes in company name, the SON spokesperson said.
However, Fashina alluded to a recent challenge in transmitting approved and activated SONCAP certificates to the National trade portal which according to him was not peculiar to SON but all other trade related agencies from January 22, 2020.
He stated that the issue has since been rectified on the national trade portal and all pending SONCAP certificates transmitted to the Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) portal as at February 1, 2020.
On the claim that imports were accumulating demurrage as a result of the gap, Fashina explained that the SONCAP is a pre-shipment process, stressing that only non-compliant importers, who apply for the certificates after the arrival of their consignments are crying foul.
He said some importers who brought in about 182 containers into the country without following the pre-shipment conformity assessment process are those trying to circumvent established procedure and crying wolf.
According to him, such consignments would naturally be subjected to scrutiny, seized if found to be substandard while those behind then would face prosecution.
He advised importers to follow the import procedures strictly by ensuring that they process their product and SONCAP certificates offshore rather than looking for short cuts after the consignments have arrived Nigeria.
