The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents
(NCMDLCA) has identified lengthy and cumbersome documentation process on
export, multiplicity of regulatory/security agencies, high and
duplicated terminal/ shipping company charges and process and lack of
export infrastructures as the major obstacles that affect export process
from Nigerian ports.
In a letter to the Executive Director of
the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and copied President
Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian
Shippers Council (NSC), NCMDLCA called on the federal government to take
urgent steps to remove the obstacles before it is too late.
The letter signed by its National
President, Lucky Amiwero alleged that: “Federal government agencies
duplicate the process of quality inspection with that of the appointed
federal government pre-shipment inspection on export. This constitutes
serious bottleneck due to lengthy and cumbersome process, procedure and
cost, which resulted in attendant delays and high cost that necessitated
to the movement of our product to our neighbouring West African Ports.”
On the duplication of charges by shipping
companies, the customs agents said: “The Nigerian Shipping companies in
line with the contract of carriage, handle import container that are
loaded back to the country of origin as empty container without any
charge due to the level of export activities that is still very low in
the country. The shipping lines Terminal Delivery Charges (TDC) is a
charge that is not tied to service, as such charge is duplicated in the
charges of Terminal Operators. Their charges do not represent any
service to exporters in Nigeria in any form.”
“The excessive Terminal Charge coupled
with various other charges, they added, are not tied to services in line
with WTO Articles VIII –(1)-(a), which stipulates, that all fees and
charges of whatever character imposed by contracting parties in
connection with importation and exportation shall be limited in amount
to the approximate cost of service renders.
“The terminal charges are charges
component that are not tied to service and it’s duplicated by the
shipping company who do not perform any service in the terminal. The
operational procedure of Terminal/shipping activities contributes to the
associated delay due to short shipment of consignment that result to
late Loading and reloading of exported containers. The mandatory
applicable global adoption of International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
Convention for safety of life at sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A
Regulation 2 cargo information, is the shipper responsibility to provide
the container’s gross.
“The Verification of gross Mass (VGM)
shall be verified by shipper either by weighing the packed container
using calibrated and certified equipment as contained in the provision
of SOLAS CHAPTER VI Part A Section 4 paragraph 1&2, which clearly
states, the shipper of a container shall ensure the verified gross mass
(VGM) is stated in the shipping document and shall be signed by the
shipper.”
Consequently, they requested that trade
procedure committee (TPC) be set up with expert, to address the obstacle
and the shortfalls inherent in our system as it relate to export and
import trade
We as an organisation that has served in close to 167 federal government Committee some attached, which include, presidential committees on Destination Inspection, Port problem, 48 hour clearance of cargo, Customs reform etc, request that trade procedure committee (TPC) be set up with expert, to address the obstacle and the shortfalls inherent in our system as it relate to Export and Import Trade.
Eromosele Abiodun/Thisday
No comments:
Post a Comment