The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has commenced live operations of its Automated Excise Register System (ERS), marking a significant step in its ongoing trade modernisation agenda aimed at strengthening excise administration and transparency.
According to the Service, the ERS officially went live after the successful conclusion of a pilot phase carried out between July and August 2025. The system has now been deployed at three strategic excise factories — British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) PLC in Oyo State, International Tobacco Company (ITC) Limited in Kwara State, and Leaf Tobacco & Commodities Nigeria Ltd in Kaduna State.
The facilities were selected as pilot sites due to their prominence in the excise sector and their capacity to provide a strong foundation for nationwide implementation. During the test phase, the system recorded a 75 per cent efficiency score at BATN, integrated production and reporting systems across the factories, and improved collaboration between Customs officers and factory management teams.
With the system now live, all excise-related transactions at the pilot factories — including the recording of production figures, computation of excise duties, and generation of statutory reports — will be conducted exclusively through the ERS. The NCS stated that the platform is expected to drastically reduce manual documentation, eliminate inconsistencies in data reporting, and enhance transparency within the excise value chain.
The Customs Service added that insights gained from the pilot will guide the system’s nationwide rollout, with plans to extend its coverage to other excise-regulated industries such as beverages, spirits, and segments of the manufacturing sector.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, said the ERS is a central pillar of the NCS’s broader Trade Modernisation Project. He called on industry operators and stakeholders to embrace the reform and provide constructive feedback to support the system’s nationwide expansion.
“The Service seeks stakeholders’ support in building a more robust and transparent excise regime that fosters compliance, enhances operational efficiency, and guarantees sustainable revenue growth for the Federal Government,” he stated.