The immediate past Acting National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto has advised the management of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS to withdraw the newly introduced 4% Customs Operations Finance, COF to avert the chaos and confusion which this new development may cause the industry at the moment.
Farinto who made this appeal in a chat with newsmen in his office in Lagos on Tuesday, further advised the Service to give the trading community the required 90 days grace period to enable them adjust to the COF, by which time the Service would carry out adequate sensitization of the trading community on the Customs Operations Finance, COF.
The former National Vice President of ANLCA who expressed his displeasure over the way and manner the Service secretly introduce this COF without recourse to 90 days grace period as obtained in any international trade and without sensitizing the trading community on what to expect, advised the freight forwarders not to be hasty about paying the money.
While acknowledging that the Service was right in implementing the COF in line with the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS Act 2023, he however argued that the process adopted by the Service in implementing the COF as well as the timing was wrong.
“The process and timing was wrong. Again, the stakeholders were not carried along. We would have been given a minimum of 90 days. That’s how it’s done. This is international trade, I need to tell my shipper abroad that if you will be shipping from September or October, there’s going to be a new charge on import, let us prepare ahead of time. That’s how it should be”, he said
According to him, “Section 18 of this same Act empowers customs to charge not less than 4% Free On Board of import according to international best practices. When we were defending this Act when it was repealed, a lot of politics was played which I don’t want to delve into. How this particular Section came to be overnight, I wouldn’t know but it has been signed and it’s now a law.
“But that is not my problem now, my problem is that even in a developing country where there’s no advancement, if there’s going to be implementation of a new law, there are procedures. Before now, there’s what we call procedural codes in customs parlance and part of procedural codes is circular to government agencies, associations and freight forwarders. There has not been any circular to that effect.
“We will now also use the same weapon that they are now using for them. The same 2023 Act Section 23 says, “The Service shall ensure that all relevant information on general application pertaining to customs service is made available to persons. Subsection 2 of that same section says that the Service shall promptly publish on the Service website and any other designated place or form, the following information: a. importation, exportation, transit procedure including seaports and so on. b. Applied rate of duty or charges of any kind in connection with importation and exportation. c. Rules of classification, valuation and so on. f. All fees and charges imposed by the Service and other agencies in connection with importation, exportation and transit procedure.
“Looking at these two particular sections of one law, one procedure, none of these things have been taken into cognizance and none of them have been implemented by the Nigeria Customs Service. We only woke up to see that this 4% has been imputed into the system and this negates all the rules of engagement.
“So, in view of this, I want to advise them to withdraw this immediately and sensitize the trading community and give them a timeframe of 90 days, only then will the Service be justified on this issue otherwise, a lot of people will go to Court. I also want to advise that the agents should not be in a haste to pay this. Let us out of protest, leave our consignment at the port for at least one week.”
He blamed the Public Relations Department of the NCS for not doing the needful in this regard noting that it was supposed to carry out series of stakeholders sensitization in line with the WCO regulations before the implementation.
Insisting that he’s not against the introduction of the COF but the procedure and the timing, he said, “They have the right to implement the 4% Customs Operations Finance but there are procedures of doing it. Section 23 also says that you must sensitize the trading community, meaning that if you have not done that, you have actually flouted the law. Even if you charge this money and anybody goes to court tomorrow, the court will charge you for inconvenience and any demurrage that accrued as a result of this illegality.
On whether or not he is going to report this development to the port economic regulator, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, he said, “Of course, I am going to write a letter tomorrow morning to not just the Shippers’ Council, but to the Presidency taking cognizance of what has happened with the implementation and let the President know that because you have been voted in and you promised to alleviate the suffering of the masses, this will definitely going to have a negative effect on our image.
“I will advise freight forwarders not to pay this money for now and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council should live up to expectations by protecting the Nigerian Shippers.”
Photo: Dr. Kayode Farinto, immediate past Acting National President of ANLCA.
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