From Idu Jude, Abuja
Two government agencies, including the Nigeria Shipper’s Council (NSC) and the Nigerian Customs Service, have been urged to address the challenges of manipulation of Bill of Lading at the Nigerian ports, by its staffs, as the shady practice has contributed immensely to poor revenue for the country.
The National Coordinator of the Nigeria Importers Special Taskforce (NIT) Chief Obinna Michael Ekwego made the call on Thursday in Abuja during an exclusive interview with our correspondent. He said that if such is addressed, Nigeria will not only be economically viable but also diversify, making a shift from being overdependent on oil and gas for revenue generation from economically viable ports.
Chief Ekwego further highlighted the adverse effect this shady practice is having on the Nigerian Economy, alleging that the federal government has always been on the losing side as over 80% revenue at the ports goes into the pockets of individuals particularly government workers, while a paltry 20% is remitted to the government owing to manipulations of the bill of lading.
Chief Ekwego, while calling for concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the Maritime and logistics businesses, recommended that the government should, as a matter of urgency adopt rotational deployment of its staff at various ports for the clearing of goods, and to end the shady deal.
In further submission, Chief Ekwego highlighted that experience as an expert in the logistics business shows that many staff who remained in a particular posting for a long period of time are compromised by dubious impostors who manipulate the bill of lading. ” Investigation, has shown that Importers do not always pay for the goods listed in the bill of lading. Many times, the goods listed and presented as a bill of lading are not what is contained in the containers and that makes the individual pay less to the government, while government agents make a higher percentage by conniving with the owners.
“As I said, the Shipper’s Council is the regulatory enforcement body monitoring all the vessels coming into Nigeria, and the Nigerian Customs Service works hand in hand with them clearing imported goods. So the manipulation is done between the two bodies in collaboration with dubious Importers. The authority should adopt a rotational deployment of staff. What is seen in Nigeria is that a staff member of the Nigeria Customs service, can be on a particular duty post up to five years without redeployment, and that aids corruption. That is why an importer knows each importer by name and deals with them directly in manipulating the bill of lading. Here we are talking about staff in the Evaluation and Examination department. They are the people manipulating the tariff increases during the clearing of goods”
He said the investigation has shown that most times while a bill of lading reads agricultural products which have a low tariff according to the national import law, the real contents in the container are turned out to be used tires which are supposed to attract a higher tariff for government IGR.
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of the Nigeria Importers Special Taskforce, has condemned the obnoxious practice, adding that the genuine importers have always been at the receiving end. “This kind of practice has always been there. And it is affecting the country in diverse ways. One thing is that it attracts poor revenue for the country, while individuals make a feast on the supposed National revenue. Secondly, the genuine Importers are made to face stiff competition in the hands of smugglers, whose goods are never registered properly.
Those who use goods of lower tariff as a cover-up to smuggle in goods with a supposed high tariff”.
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