Crackdown on 103 Bonded Warehouses: Stakeholder Applauds Customs, Urges Transparent Reconciliation

By Iyioluwa Samuel, Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has suspended transire processing for 103 bonded warehouses and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) as part of a sweeping verification and reconciliation exercise aimed at plugging revenue leakages and restoring integrity to cargo operations.

The move, announced last week, is being spearheaded by the Comptroller-General of Customs’ Special Task Force on Transires. The exercise seeks to reconcile outstanding duty positions, ensure proper retirement of transires, and sanction operators found to have abused the system.

Otunba Joseph Adebowale Atoloye, Managing Director/CEO of Waltolye Nigeria Limited and a respected freight forwarding expert, welcomed the directive, describing it as a necessary step toward accountability and revenue protection.

“We support reconciliation and accountability within the Customs system. Effective control mechanisms are essential for revenue protection and trade facilitation. However, the process must not unnecessarily paralyse legitimate trade,” Atoloye stated. He emphasized that compliant operators should not face indefinite restrictions while discrepancies are being addressed.

While applauding the crackdown, Atoloye urged Customs to ensure the exercise is transparent, time-bound, and efficiently executed. He warned that prolonged suspension could trigger cargo delays, higher storage costs, demurrage charges, and wider supply chain disruptions—undermining the Federal Government’s drive to reduce port costs.

He called for constant communication between Customs, bonded warehouses, terminal operators, FTZs, and licensed agents to minimize uncertainty and restore transire privileges promptly once facilities are cleared.

Observers view the suspension as a long-overdue sanitization of bonded warehouse and FTZ operations, often criticized as weak links in cargo tracking and revenue assurance. The Special Task Force is expected to audit all transire movements, recover outstanding duties, and enforce compliance.

If concluded transparently and swiftly, stakeholders believe the exercise will strengthen investor confidence, enhance compliance, and reinforce Customs’ image as a modern, accountable, and revenue-focused institution under Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.