Following recent calls in some quarters for increase funding for the Nigeria customs, more stakeholders have continued to take different position on the matter, the latest being the Former Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tincan Island Chapter and the President, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Dr. Frank Ukor.
Speaking on the subject matter, the AREFFN President, Dr. Frank Ukor stated that there was no need allocating more funding to the Service as the added responsibility they now claimed was part of their job and that already, the service was already collecting 7 percent which was enough for them.
Ukor noted that apart from the 7 percent which the service collects, there were other unofficial monies that it also collects arguing that if the service should be honest and truly want to work, it should put part of those monies into its coffers to help in carrying out most of its projects rather than asking for more.
According to him,” remember, the 7 percent is what they collect officially, what of the unofficial ones? Let me tell you, two years ago, 2,115 containers, overtime containers were auctioned. Do you know how much that came out of the auction? And these containers are those that belonged to our people, check how much they would have made from this. They said #150,000 was what they paid to the government, #300,000 for forty footer containers, check the number of forty footer containers involved”.
“But before they were auctioned, apart from the ones that they used to bribe people, the rest of them were sold at a value. There were some containers that were up to #18 million in value, there were some that were less, the ones that were up to #18 million what they did was to cost them and tell you to pay #16 million and they sell it to you. They give you papers and you go and pay #150,000 per container. The money they make from there, all the money they make, where did they go?”
“If they want to be honest to themselves, if they actually want to work, they should put part of it into their coffers to assist them in doing whatever they want to do instead of asking for 1 percent”.
He further argued that if government should grant them the 1 percent Comprehensive Import supervision Scheme (CISS) that they were asking, then it was not being fair to the erstwhile Inspection agents which the customs took over from as according to him, the services of the inspection agents were more better than what obtained with the customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
“Anybody asking for 5 to 7 percent FOB for customs, well, he has to give us reasons why he is asking for that. I hope they are not the ones that go behind to get incentives from the customs and talk to see if the Federal government can do something”, Ukor queried.
On his part, the former ANLCA Chairman, Tincan Island Chapter, Dr. Kayode Farintho said that he was of the view that customs should be allowed to collect the 1 percent Free on board (FOB) since that was what the former inspection agents were allowed to collect.
Farintho however opposed the call for the service to collect 5 to 7 percent FOB arguing that since effort was on how to reduce the cost of clearing in the nation’s ports, the call if hearkened to was capable of impact either negatively or positively on the economy.
He said,” I have a different opinion to all these, what I have from my own investigation is that in addition to what customs is collecting, I am of the opinion that government should allow them collect 1 percent FOB since this is what the former inspection agents were collecting”.
“What are we here running away from? We are talking of a situation where we can reduce the cost of cargo clearance in the ports, a situation where you now say, they should collect 5 or 7 percent directly or indirectly have its impact on the final consumer”.
“What I think the government should do is that the 1 percent FOB that was going to the inspection agents should go to the Nigeria Customs Service in addition to their former collection. This will go a long way in assisting them”.
Recall that the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) had advocated that government should allow the service collect 5 to 7 percent FOB to enable it perform its duty effectively owing to the fact that the taking over of the Destination Inspection Scheme from the former service providers had conferred more responsibility to the service hence the need for more funds.
