Grimaldi, DHL to pilot manifest submissions on National Single Window

Cargo manifest submissions on Nigeria’s National Single Window (NSW) will begin with a pilot phase when the program goes live March 27, with one shipping line and one air cargo operator, Tola Fakolade, director of the NSW said on Monday.

Grimaldi Group will pilot sea cargo manifest submission at the Ports Terminal Multi-services Limited (PTML), while DHL, a German-based logistics company, will pilot air cargo submissions, he told stakeholders at an engagement organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

This phase, Fakolade said, will run for a month, allowing agencies, including Customs, to test the system and resolve any issues tied to submitting manifests through a single platform.

“We will do a rollout for four weeks with this to ensure that everything works well,” he said, noting that “after these four weeks of pilot rollout, by May 1, every shipping line and every air cargo company and airline will start submitting all their cargo manifests on the single window platform,” he added.

The rollout forms part of the first phase of the Single Window, which goes live on Friday, March 27 and is designed to change how importers interact with government agencies that regulate their transactions.

Explainer: What to know as Nigeria’s National Single Window goes live March 27

Traders will be able to upload information once on the NSW platform, which will distribute it to relevant agencies including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), commercial banks and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Under the model, once an importer inputs a product’s HS code, the platform generates the required documentation and routes it to the appropriate agencies, while payments and application tracking are handled within the same interface.

The aim, Fakolade said, is to reduce physical visits, cut duplication and limit human contact in a process long dominated by manual steps.

“By Phase 2 100 percent of the processes will be digitised as well,” he said, adding that all agencies have been fully integrated into the system ahead of rollout.

Officials say the system will also introduce a risk algorithm that uses historical trade data, including product type and country of origin, to classify shipments.

Compliant traders could be cleared faster under a “green” channel, others under “yellow” are flagged for document checks while those marked “red” will require physical examination.

Agencies’ performance will also be reviewed. “You can track which agent is delaying based on how long the aligned period is to approve a permit. We’ll run reports to determine compliance,” Fakolade said.

Authorities expect the platform to improve transparency and potentially raise revenue by reducing leakages and making Nigerian ports more competitive.

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“One low-hanging fruit if deployed is a lot of goods meant for Apapa that go to Cotonou for clearance because it’s cheaper will come back,” he added. While phase two is expected to further digitise processes, he acknowledged that outcomes will depend on agency compliance and port infrastructure, including the availability of scanners and other inspection tools.