The Nigeria Customs Service on Monday 12 January 2026 commenced the implementation of a new Standard Operating Procedure to regulate courier companies operating under the Delivered Duty Paid regime, in a move aimed at strengthening compliance, revenue assurance and trade facilitation.
According to a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, the SOP provides “a unified framework for registration, manifest submission, declaration, valuation, clearance, delivery and compliance monitoring” for courier operators adopting the DDP Incoterm.
“The initiative derives its legal basis from the International Chamber of Commerce Incoterms 2020, relevant provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, the World Customs Organisation SAFE Framework of Standards, the Revised Kyoto Convention, the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement and the Nigeria Postal Service Act 2023.” He stated.
The statement further reinforced that under the new procedure, courier companies seeking to operate under the DDP regime are required to obtain licences from the NCS Headquarters Licence and Permit Unit under the Tariff and Trade Department.
The Service said applicants must submit mandatory documents, including CAC registration papers, valid courier licences, compliance bonds and a formal application to operate under the regime.
“All licensed operators are required to submit an Advance Electronic Manifest 24 hours before shipment arrival, clearly indicating DDP as the Incoterm and providing complete details such as HS codes, item descriptions, values, origins and consignees,” the Service said.
It added that courier companies are mandated to act as declarants by filing Single Goods Declarations via the indigenous B’Odogwú platform, supported with invoices, airway bills and packing lists.
The statement stressed that “full payment of customs duties, VAT and other statutory levies must be completed through authorised NCS payment channels before clearance,” noting that risk based cargo profiling would guide inspections, with physical examinations conducted where discrepancies or high risk indicators are identified.
On enforcement, the NCS said it has instituted “a robust monitoring and compliance mechanism through periodic Post Clearance Audits to verify the accuracy of DDP declarations, prevent revenue leakages and ensure compliance with classification and valuation standards.”
It warned that violations, including false declarations, non payment of duties and operational misconduct will attract sanctions ranging from suspension or revocation of clearance licences to seizure of goods, penalties with interest and prosecution under the NCS Act 2023.
