NCS PAAR project emerges winner of NITDA 2015 best e-governance project

From ODIMMEGWA JOHNPETER, Abuja

THE Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), a clearance tool introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service in 2013 has emerged the 2015 winner of Best e-governance project for the year. The Service also emerged Runner up in the Best MDA Category of the year.
The award, organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency, in collaboration with NIHILENT was presented to the Comptroller-General of Customs during the E-Governance and Long Service Awards 2015 at the International Conference Centre in Abuja. It was in recognition of the project’s overall capacity to address the needs of stakeholders, demonstrate efficiency, and benefit the masses over a long period of time.
The Comptroller-General of Customs who was represented by the Assistant Comptroller-General, ICT, Comptroller Funsho Adegoke said, “We are delighted to have won this award and we want to assure Nigerians that we will continue to fine tune the PAAR system and improve on it in order to meet global standards.”
Since its official kick off in February 2009 and eventual launch in December 2013, the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report continues to be a robust and dynamic platform for facilitating Pre Arrival processing in line with Nigeria Import process and global best practices recommended by WCO.
The platform has embedded risk and intervention mechanisms, fast tracking of compliant traders, building of a single and integrated risk management engine and entrenching a culture of transparency, professionalism and quality control into the system thereby further upholding e-customs agenda and eliminating human contact.
The PAAR system, which has generated 426,636,000 risk assessment documents since its launch, has recorded tremendous success in enhancing revenue profile of the Service and improved Nigeria ranking in the ease of doing business.
The yearly award is the second in the series organized by NITDA. In 2014, the Nigeria Customs Service emerged winner in 2 categories: Best Web Presence and Best MDA of the year.

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