Following the directive given to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) by the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chbuike Rotimi Amaechi to commence collection of the Practitioners’ Operating Fee (POF) on August 1, 2017, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has appealed to the Transportation Minister to suspend the collection of the fee indefinitely.
The association which made this appeal in a press release issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the association, Dr. Kayode Farinto the fee would amount to an additional cost of doing business at the ports.
Farinto further contended that the fee if collected would negate the executive order on ease of doing business in Nigeria with multiplier effect on the nation’s economy.
He added that the licensed customs agencies which were being asked for the payment of the POF were already burdened with so many other fees payable at the ports in the course of carrying out their businesses.
He outlined those fees to include; annual license renewal -N215,000, annual Nigerian Ports Authority license renewal -N10,000, annual customs command operating fee-N15,000 per command, Bank charge for customs bond-N52,500 and CRFFN annual payment -N70,000.
“Adding daily Practitioners’ Operating Fee would be financially burdensome on average customs agencies which when transferred to the importers/exporters shall eventually bear on the Nigerian economy negatively.
“Equally, we want to state categorically that nowhere in the world is such payment as Practitioners’ Operating Fee being collected from customs agents/brokers, I stand to be corrected. Nigeria being a growing economy should not be saddled with the burden of this Practitioners’ Operating Fee which is a design of some few individuals to distort the national economy for their selfish interests”, he said.
The NPS moreover drew the attention of the Minister and indeed the general public to the fact that the legality of the POF had been challenged in court by ANLCA adding that the matter with suit number FHC/LS/CS/953/1 was yet to be determined by the court.
According to him,” Permit me to cite our national weekly law report (RES-Pending). In a case of Ezegbu vs F.A. T. B (1992) NWLR (PT 220) 669, the court described it as an act “tantamount to undermining the integrity of the court”, and held that @ 735 that”once a party is aware of a pending court process and whether the court has not given specific injunctive order, parties are bound to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the court process”. We shall not hesitate to proceed to court to invoke its disciplinary jurisdiction to curb the excesses of the Honourable Minister of Transportation as a recalcitrant party, since Nigeria is not a banana republic and we believe in the rule of law”.
On the issue of election into the Governing Board of CRFFN, the ANLCA spokesman said the association supported that the election be held “since this is one of our prayers in the ongoing court case and the Governing Board when inaugurated will determine the fate of the Practitioners’ Operating Fee”.
He continued,” However, we wish to reiterate that funding the election should not be an issue since this has been taken care of in the 2017 budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Transportation.
“Finally, we appeal to the Honourable Minister of Transportation, in the interest of the Nigerian economy generally to suspend the collection of the POF indefinitely to avoid its multiplier effect on the already impoverished citizenry”.
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