The Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Sir Mike Jukwe has said that the provisions in the draft Bill for the amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) as it relates to the Customs Representative, as a segment of freight forwarding profession in Nigeria are inconsistent with those in the existing CRFFN Act No. 16 of 2007.
Jukwe who stated this in a submission he made at the public hearing on the draft amendments to the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) organized by the Senate Committee on Customs,Excise and Tariffs at Abuja on Monday argued that if those provisions in the draft Bill were not amended as per the attached submission, it would infringe on the rights of nearly 10,000 Nigerian freight forwarders of which over 2,000 were already on the Register of Freight Forwarders.
He added that going by the provisions in the draft Bill, the nearly 10,000 freight forwarders in Nigeria would be denied their source of livelihood, which negative effect on the Nigerian security and economy was better imagined as it may be disastrous.
According to him,”The situation in freight forwarding became so chaotic and uncoordinated that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was established by the CRFFN Act 16 of 2007 and charged with the responsibility, amongst others, to determine the standard of knowledge and skill to be attained by persons seeking to be registered freight forwarders as well as to regulate and control freight forwarding in its entire ramification in Nigeria.
“We wish to draw your attention to Sections 19(1) and (2) of the CRFFN Act No. 16 of 2007 which has clearly spelt out the responsibility of CRFFN in registering freight forwarders before the Nigeria Customs Service can license Customs Agents also known as Customs Brokers in other countries and addressed as customs representatives/agents in the draft Bill.
“Section 28(2) of the CRFFN Act 16 of 2007 has made it unlawful for any individual or corporate body to practice the freight forwarding profession in any of the specialized areas without the CRFFN registration certificate. It is therefore pertinent to note that you must first be a freight forwarder before specializing in any aspect of the freight forwarding profession, such as Customs Agency/Brokerage, Cargo Consolidation and Haulage, to mention but a few.
“Freight forwarding is indeed an international business involving the movement of international traded goods from the point of origin to the point of final destination including the associated formalities, such as customs and all port clearance.
“Section 2 of the CRFFN Act (Registration of Freight Forwarders)Regulations, 2010 contained in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 48 has clearly spelt out those specialized areas of the freight forwarding profession and the requirements for registration as a freight forwarder. Copies of the CRFFN Act No. 16 of 2007 and the Federal Republic of Nigeria official Gazette No. 48 are attached.
“Having reviewed the provisions in the draft Bill as it relates to the Customs Representative, as a segment of Freight Forwarding, we have come to the conclusion that those in the draft Bill are inconsistent with those in the existing CRFFN Act No. 16 of 2007”.
The Registrar maintained that CRFFN was not only the regulator of freight forwarding but also the umbrella body and the voice of freight forwarders in Nigeria adding that the membership of the Governing Board of the Customs was incomplete without the inclusion of a representative of the CRFFN.
“The membership of the board is incomplete without the inclusion of a representative of CRFFN. This is imperative especially when we put into consideration the fact that the complimentary role of CRFFN is needed for customs to record any success. This was reinforced in S.2 (1) (F) of the CRFFN Act 2007. In this section the membership of the Governing Council of CRFFN included Nigeria Customs Service.
He further posited that a percentage of the Free on Board (FOB) to be determined from time to time by the Minister of Finance and the Government should be paid to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria for the regulation and control of freight forwarding operations in Nigeria.
On Customs Representatives as created by the draft bill, Jukwe said,”Customs representatives “ or “licensed agents” means Customs representatives, referred to as Customs Brokers or Freight Forwarders or better still “A FREIGHT FORWARDER” should be defined as already defined in Section 30 of the CRFFN Act No. 16 of 2007 hereunder.
“SECTION 30 of the CRFFN Act 2007 defines a freight forwarder as “any person or company who arranges the carriage or movement of goods and associated formalities on behalf of an importer or exporter along the international boundaries of sea ports, cargo airport or land border stations.
“It is copiously clear under this Section of the Bill that the requirements of the law set out in Section 19 (1) and (2) of the CRFFN Act 2007 is lacking. Under this section any freight forwarder who has not submitted his valid certificate of registration to appropriate government agency shall not be granted license or permit.
Thus SECTION 19(1) of CRFFN Act 2007 states as follow:
“Notwithstanding the provisions of any other laws, any government agency responsible for granting of permits, approvals and license to freight forwarders shall in addition to any other requirement, require the applicant to submit a VALID certificate of registration as a registered freight forwarder issued by the council.
“As if to preclude any ambiguity, the CRFFN Act went ahead to provide in more specific terms in SECTION 19(2) of CRFFN Act 2007 which states as follow: “Every freight forwarder licensed under the Customs and Excise Management Act prior to the coming into force of this Act, shall immediately after the commencement of this Act, submit to the Nigeria Customs Service and any relevant authority, a VALID certificate of registration issued by the Council.
“Furthermore, Section 28 (1 – 4) of the CRFFN Act states that: S 28(1) “A Certificate required by any written law from persons whom a register is maintained under this Act shall not be valid unless the person signing it is registered in accordance with this Act.
“S 28(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act and notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no person, not being registered in accordance with this Act, shall be entitled to hold any appointment, or be granted a license by any establishment in the public service of the Federation or of a state or in any public or private establishment, body or institution, if the holding of such appointment or the grant of such license by any establishment in the public service of the Federation or of a state or in any public or private establishment, body or institution, if the holding of such appointment or the grant of such license involves the performance by him in Nigeria of any act pertaining to the profession of freight forwarding for gain.
“S 28(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, persons or companies engaged in the international transportation of goods shall not employ the services of any person as freight forwarder unless the person is registered under this Act.
“S. 28(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or enactment, no remuneration shall be recoverable by legal proceedings in respect of any act done or omitted to be done by a person not registered under this Act, in pursuance of any contract while purporting to act as a registered freight forwarder or by any person who is prohibited from performing such act for gain”.
He continued,”In view of the forgoing, the draft Bill must specifically include CRFFN VALID registration certificate as one of the requirements for issuance and renewal of license by Customs to freight forwarders who are customs brokers. This can only make these Acts of the National Assembly coherent and to work hand in hand”.
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