INCESSANT HIKE IN CUSTOMS DUTY; BEYOND NIGERIA CUSTOMS’ CONTROL – APFFLON
By Mcanthony Onuoha
Following the backlash triggered by the continued hike in import duty, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria- APFFLON, has called on Freight Forwarders and their importers to heap every blame on the Ministry of Finance and the management of Central Bank of Nigeria and not on Nigeria Customs.
The National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, in a chat with the Prestige Magazine Online, said that the consistent increase was beyond the control of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Recall that twice in two straight months, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised Customs duty from N951.941 per dollar to N1. 356 /$. A development that requires that the importers raise more funds to clear their cargoes at the seaport, airport and land borders.
According to information obtained from Customs Website, the exchange rate for cargo clearing was adjusted by 45.5%.
In a later shocking development on Saturday morning, less than 24hours after the N1,356 increase, Customs Duty Exchange Rate rose again to N1,413/$, throwing freight forwarders and their importers into serious confusion.
Meanwhile, there has been serious outrage among maritime practitioners over what they describe as a “very unfriendly situation” that has continued to emasculate businesses.
While some are throwing the blame at the feet of the Nigeria Customs Service- NCS, the National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite is rather calling on Freight Forwarders and all concerned, to haul the whole blame on the Ministry of Finance and the CBN under the watch of Mr. Olayemi Cardoso.
Ogunojemite, who advised freight forwarder to join force with the Civil Society groups, the Nigeria Labour Congress and trade unions and redeem the masses from the excruciating economic situation which in his words, is clearly as a result of sheer incompetence on the side of the current managers of the economy.
The APFFLON President berated the Ministry of Finance and the CBN for losing control of the Naira which has warranted its free fall. He regreted the level of hardship being experienced by Nigerians, saying that the continued upward revision of Customs Duty Exchange Rate would continue to hit harder on the masses who are the end users .
According to Ogunojemite, ” Customs has no hand in the continued increase in tariff, it should be blamed on the CBN under the watch of Mr. Olayemi Cardoso and his counterparts at the Federal Ministry of Finance. What we are witnessing today is as a result of sheer incompetence on the side of those managing our economy. Businesses are dying, manufacturers are shutting down. The ports are almost deserted because freight forwarders have no jobs any more. ”
Economy experts have said that the hike would have huge implications on the prices of imported goods already being pressured by surging inflation.
The recent increase is about the fifth exchange rate adjustment the port industry has witnessed after the service started the implementation of the floating foreign exchange rate regime by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July 2023 and fifth since the coming into power of the new government.
On server failure, Ogunojemite noted that attitude of the ministry of finance towards redeeming the economic situation has increasingly proven to be lukewarm. He berated the ministry for upholding a contractual agreement with Webb Fontaine, saying that outfit has only succeeded in making nonsense of the federal government policy on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB).
According to Ogunojemite, ” until the Ministry of Finance resolves to get essential service providers commit to compensation agreement or have their contracts revoked, the likes of Webb Fontaine will continue to take Nigerians for granted. If nothing is done to keep them on their toes, and also address the challenges posed by the perennial Apapa gridlock, the core essence of the Federal Government’s policy on Ease of Doing Business will never be actualized.”
