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The Customs and Excise Department is continually striving to be a leading organization in the federation, as such not only should we pay close attention to our twin rules as both a revenue collector and border protection agency, but also as a trade facilitator.
It is readily apparent to us that we also have to be keenly aware of our public service function. To the end, the Customs and Excise Department has developed a Customer Care Policy to enlighten our stake holders about Customs and guide ourselves as to what should be done to deliver a high quality, friendly service to you our customer. This policy sets out the basic principles of customer service which would be adopted by the Customs and Excise Department. It details the nature and quality of service, which our customers can expect to receive and the actions to be undertaken.
The policy would outline what is to be expected when you are interacting with the Customs, how we will deliver timely information to our nation and the level of decorum that is to be expected of the officers of the Customs and Excise Department.
POLICY DECLARATION
CUSTOMS is committed to providing high quality services and delivering high standards of customers service. As a customer of the Customs and Excise you have the right to be treated fairly and considerately when using any of our services whether in person, by phone, in writing or by e-mail. These standards outline the level of service you should expect and gives you the opportunity to challenge us if we do not deliver them. We will deal with you as an individual and ensure that you are treated fairly and equally regardless of age, sex, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. When dealing with all customers we will
- Be friendly and accessible
- Understand your needs
- Meet your expectations wherever possible and explain when we cannot
- Treat you as we would expect to be treated ourselves
- Respect confidentiality
- Provide a quality service and work continually to improve this service
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CUSTOMS
CUSTOMERS VISITING OUR OFFICES
- We will be polite, courteous and fair in our dealings with you
- We will respond to you query/complaint promptly and if we are unable to help you we will try to redirect you to someone who can
- We will provide public offices that are clean, safe and provide adequate privacy
ENTRY (DECLARATION) CLEARANCE TIME
The Customs will process your commercial entries in a timely manner;
- One to two lines entries will be processed right away
- Three to ten line entries will be process in at least two (2) hours
- Eleven to twenty line entries will be process in at least four (4) hours
- Bonded Entries will be processed within an one (1) hour
- Any other will be lodge and process in at least twenty four (24) hours
- Re-submitted entries will be reprocessed in half the allotted time as the original submission
NB: This criteria is based on the assumption that entries have been e-lodged.
PRE-RELEASE REQUEST
Request for pre-releases will be approved/denied within a 10-15 minutes window.
(For more information see pre-release policy)
CONCESSION APPROVAL
Request for concessions will be approved/denied within a 10-15 minutes window.
NB: This is upon the assumption that Customs have been formally notified of concession.
INFORMATION REQUEST
Any request for information, via e-mail, phone, or any other form of communication should be directed to our Public Relation Officer. While not compulsory, it is preferable that such requests are made in writing so that they can be logged for posterity.
The requested information should be relevant to the individual or organization and their business with Customs (conducting business across borders), such as clearance procedures, import taxes, classification, valuation/assessment issues, concessions/allowances, prohited/restricted goods, licenses required.
Customs will respond to all requests within 3-5 working days of receipt:
- If appropriate this response shall include web links and or excerpts from cited legislation, notices etc., for client scrutiny.
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If a decision on a matter was given, then the supporting argument will be provided. Where the information is not readily available within the Customs database and requires consultation and or additional information from other government agencies, the one making the request of Customs is to be notified within the first three (3) days indicating such and a final response is to be given fifteen working days.
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If the response received is deemed unsatisfactory, the one making the request of the Customs has the recourse to repeal the decision and a panel of senior management will review the matter and a response will be given no later than forty (40) days of the receipt of the request for revision.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
The Customs and Excise Department is anxious to learn about any case where a customer receives poor service or inadequate response. On occasion we may make mistakes in the operation of our services, or the standard of services provided may not be to the high level that our customers expect to receive. Where this happens we wish to know, so that we can take the appropriate action to remedy the situation.
Steps For Complaints:-
- Ask to speak to the supervisor or the Officer in Charge of the Station or Unit where you encountered the issue.
- You will be required to explain or provide the details of what transpired. Based on the nature of the complaint, the Supervisor would be the one to make a decision.
- If for any reason you are dissatisfied with th decision of the supervisor, then you can rquest to speak with the Assistant Comptroller with responsibility for that Station/Unit or our Public Relations Officer (PRO).
- You also have the advantage of contacting us via email at customerservice@skncustoms.com or enquirypoint@skncustoms.com
Customs will respond to all complaints within 3-5 working days of receipt.
If a decision on a matter was given, then the supporting argument will be provided. If appropriate, this response shall include web links and or excerpts from cited legislation, notices etc., for client scrutiny.
If the response received is deemed unsatisfactory, the one making the request of the Customs has the recourse to appeal the decision and a panel of senior management will review the matter and a response will be given no later than fifteen days of the receipt of the request for revision.
ONLINE PUBLICATION
- The Customs will seek to make available all its legislation, policies, procedures, etc., via its website (skncustoms.com).
- We will ensure that information provided is relevant up to date, easily understood and complete. We will review and improve our information, application forms and general documents relating to service criteria, so as to ensure that they are precise and easily understood.
- We will use the mass media to inform our citizens about our policies, legislation, procedures, etc.
SERVICE QUALITY AND FEEDBACK
- We will provide you with a good quality of service.
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We will encourage you to tell us about your experience at the Customs and Excise, and will welcome your comments for service improvements and policy change. This can be done using our Enquiry Point e-mail (enquirypoint@skncustoms.com) or through our public information officer (1-869-466-7227 Ext 3243)
- We will acknowledge and seek to address any mistakes that we have made.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND PROCEDURE
We cherish the opinion of our customers. It is by your observation we can best assess our performance. Any suggestions, complaints, or compliments will be used by our staff to:
- Review performance
- Use the outcome of this review process to revise the customer service standards
- Communicate these standards to the public
- Train our officers
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK FORM
Complaints may be made in person at our offices, over the telephone, in writing (by e-mail or letter), or by fax. In order to assist you we have prepared a simple form which you may use.
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