National Single Window will enhance trade, drive economic stability — Finance Minister

By Godwin Oritse

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has stated that the implementation of the National Single Window, NSW project will play a pivotal role in transforming trade facilitation in Nigeria and strengthening efforts to stabilise the economy.

The Single Window project is a unified electronic platform that integrates various government agencies and stakeholders involved in trade to streamline import, export, and transit processes. 

In Nigeria, the National Single Window (NSW) project, launched in April 2024, aims to connect all trade-related agencies on a single digital portal to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, cut cargo clearance times and costs, and improve transparency and efficiency, ultimately boosting Nigeria’s trade competitiveness and economic growth. 

Documents required for NSW.

Documents needed for the NSW are integrated into a single platform, requiring specific information for permits, licenses, and customs, such as Form M, Bill of Lading/Airway Bill, Packing List, and SONCAP Certificates (for SON products) or NAFDAC documentation (for NAFDAC-regulated products). These documents are submitted electronically through the platform, which serves as a single point of submission for various government agencies involved in trade.

Agencies for the NSW

The primary agencies involved in NSW include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), as they are leading the implementation and synergy efforts for the project. 

Other key stakeholders and regulatory bodies that are involved in the participation of  the initiative to streamline trade and economic reforms, such as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Other participating stakeholders and agencies are the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),

Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) .

Objectives 

Some of the objectives of the NSW Project include streamlining trade processes,  consolidates all trade-related government agencies onto a single digital platform, eliminating the need to interact with multiple agencies separately and reduce costs and delays.

By creating a centralized system, the project aims to significantly cut bureaucratic hurdles, lower costs for operators, and accelerate cargo clearance times and enhance efficiency and transparency.

The NSW will digitize and harmonize trade-related data, leading to more efficient processes, improved compliance, and a more transparent and business-friendly environment. 

The project is also designed to increase tax revenue, prevent revenue leakage, foster new jobs, and position Nigeria as a more competitive player in global trade. 

The initiative will transform paper-based trade processes into paperless ones through an electronic-based system for processing information. 

Importers and exporters will use a single point of entry to submit all required information and documents for their transactions. 

This centralized platform will then process and exchange this information electronically with all relevant government agencies, making the entire process faster and more efficient. 

Addressing journalists after presiding over the 63rd quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Customs Service Board, at the Customs House in Maitama, Abuja, Edun noted that the initiative set to launch in the first quarter of 2026 will integrate digital automation to streamline and improve the efficiency of import and export procedures.

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