Adeyemi Matthew
Clearing agents are currently lamenting over-accumulation of demurrages at the ports following the decision by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend GTBank from its duty’s payment portal. This is even as the customs confirmed the development and attributed it to a National Assembly directive.
The Nigeria Customs Service has suspended Guarantee Trust
Bank Limited from collection of duties on imported cargoes at Nigerian ports
following an order from the National Assembly.
The development has led to tons of cargoes being trapped at
the port since Monday because freight forwarders could not complete the process
of clearing their goods from the port.
Confirming development, National Public Relations Officer of
Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller Mr. Timi Bomodi said the bank was
on temporary suspension on orders of the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, demurrages have started accruing on some cargoes
that have already made payments through the GTB Bank.
Reacting to the development, the President of the National
Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agencts, NCMDLCA, Mr. Lucky
Amiwero disclosed that it is only the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the
Nigerian Customs Service through the Ministry of Finance that suspended an
import duty collecting Bank.
Amiwero also said that the National Assembly by virtue of
its oversight function can also suspend a Bank if the Bank is found to be involved
in any form of corrupt or sharp practice.
“The people who are supposed to suspend them is the Central
Bank of Nigeria going by the law but because of the oversight of the National
Assembly, they have a right to do that if the Bank is found to be involved in
any corrupt practice” Amiwero disclosed.
Similarly, Taskforce Chairman of Association of Nigerian
Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Tin Can Port Chapter, Alhaji Rilwan Amuni
lamented that there was no official notice or circular from customs to warn the
agents from making payments through the suspended bank.
Amuni said: “There are cargoes we have paid duty on, using
Gtbank, some people have paid money, while some have captured the cargo for
payment.
“It is unfortunate that when we are about processing our
documents after payment, the customs did not attend to the jobs we have paid
for, they said that Gtbank has been suspended from their portal
“Since last week Friday, most of our jobs have been trapped
at the port until now, and this is happening at all ports generally.
“I want to believe that the remittances to the Federal
Government have not been paid for some time and this could be the reason.
“Ordinarily, customs should have cleared the cargoes we have
paid for, but they have refused.
“The effect is that we are going to be paying huge
demurrages, the customs are supposed to inform the shipping companies, in order
to help us from paying these demurrages but they would not do that, there is
lack of communication among all the players at the port”
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