As stakeholders are putting
heads together on the need to ensure the success of the 48 hours
cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports a maritime expert Prince
Olusegun Ologbese has advised the Honourable Minister of Finance,
Alhaji Shamsudeen Usman and the Comptroller General of Custom,
Hamman Ahmed not dissipate their energy on the issue because through
good planning goods can be cleared from the ports in less than 48hrs
rather customs policy makers should hammer on “commitment to quick
clearance of goods by the officers and other stakeholders in
maritime industry.
He said they should work assiduously by co-opting clearance Custom
Area comptrollers who were already committed to 48hrs and have in
many occasions cleared goods in less than 48hrs in their commands.
He reminded the minister and the CG that, the idea of 48hrs is a
conspiracy and intimidation conceived by the greedy importers and
their overseas agents.
“The aim of those behind it is to intimidate the Custom so as to be
able to always carry their imports without proper examination and
payment of maximal duties to the government whereas, these import
goods actually killed our own factories here in Nigeria.”
The Prince said According to him Nigeria ports cannot be compared
with those countries with large export products, which their
factories improve upon daily because of so that they ship their
product to Nigeria .
“Immediately any of the manufacturers is producing in his company
his first aim of customer is Nigeria, as a matter of fact, in their
ports you don’t find people there because they are inside the
factories busy producing and waiting for a profoma invoice from
Africa especially (Nigeria), he said.”
According to him,when invoice are sent to the manufacturers
contacted the shipper who will collect all the information’s
including where the goods are going to land and the date the goods
whether is going for the first hatch, second or third. Immediately
the good got to their port, it goes straight into the place prepared
for it.
No need of custom examination, they have customized their factories
and of cause, their custom don’t have mush commitments on the goods
going out to other country. What is happening over there is that,
you have no business to be in the port at all because your
manufacturer had handed over your goods to a shipper and shippers
don’t bring good to the port except it his turn to load.
“Here in Nigeria , import port, shippers carried goods form
different countries down to our ports. A times a single ship could
carry more than 800 to 1000 containers belonging to different
people, five or more ships could arrived in a week from different
shipping companies to the port.
In a situation like this, Ologbese said, concessionaire and shipping
companies runs into confusion because agent/importers would lime-up
in shipping companies office to know the position of their good
because, post office would not carry information on time some
shippers don’t even border, they always prefer to deal with their
agents.
According to him, with the emergency of Custom Boarded Terminals,
where shipload is allocated to those terminals, times, in a week,
the good are still waiting for transfer. Its either they say there
was no vehicle or that, the manifest is not ready.
“I took pain to explain extensively so that, people should know
that, before goods got to custom at all, it might have in the port
for more than a week,” he said.
Because of the reform in the custom today which has reduced the
former Long Room to Custom processing Centre (CPC) if (SGD) entry is
lodge for the confirmation and verification of duties payment at the
CPC in the morning, three hours, the entry is already at the
terminal, that means, if there are no discrepancies i.e. wrong
classification, declaration or absolutely prohibition.
After final release by the Custom Agent/Importers still go back to
the concessionaries and shipping companies. Where such Agent is
unlucky, that is his goods has not been transferred to the terminal,
he could still remain in the port for a week.
Recently, Ologbese said for example, one Mrs. Ogboru an importer and
agent, nearly died on the neck of one of the concessionaire because,
he waited for almost five days for his container to be position for
examination, it was comptroller Agbaje the CAC at Tin-Can Port who
quickly intervene and safe what would have be a serious ugly
incident the comptroller bitter about the incident, he warned that,
he was specifically instructed on 48 hrs cleanse which he said he
would not compromise.
Ironically all these days the Agent felt he or she has been delayed
would still be included in the bill of the concessionaire. I don’t
want us to waist time on other service providers in the port, NAFDAC,
SON NDLEA etc. having gone too far to explain these points, the CG
and the minister should realized that, Custom is not the only factor
is responsible for cargo clearing in the port.
And that is my main reason of advising the CG to concentrate his
energy on generating higher revenue for the Government, in fact no
one who did not know that, the new CG is a revenue officer to the
corp. He has introduced many formula which will help him to generate
higher duties. At Apapa Port now, duties are paid through on-line.
All these efforts are for the quick service delivering by the
Custom, but are they the only one in the system? And we all know
that, our importers do not yet understand sincerity in business and
patriotic to the government. For now, we Nigeria don’t have any
alternative than to get maximal revenue on these finished goods that
comes to our port because, these finished goods actually finished
and killed our own factories here.
“One can understand the new CG, trying to surprise the government by
seriously improving on what those before him have done. He may not
have time to study that, his new measures has really jack the
revenue up beyond expectation.
He and his officers should double their efforts on this while his
Area Comptroller should commit themselves to quick clearances in the
port just like what is happening at the Grimaldy Terminal by
Comptroller Ibraheem Mera.”
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NSC ready
to sanitise freight practice
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