Clearing Agents Seek Fixed Customs’ Duties, Threaten To Shut Ports

• Import Exchange Rate Drops To N1,488

CLEARING agents, under the aegis of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ( ANLCA), have threatened to shutdown the nation’s ports, if the government fails to address the persistent fluctuations in foreign exchange rate used in calculating customs duty on imported goods within the next 30 days.

Although, The Guardian gathered that the exchange rate for Customs import calculations has dropped from 1,605.52 to N1,488.896 per dollar, the dropin exchange rate, determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has taken immediate effect on the customs portal.

Even at that, the agents insisted that the CBN should have a fixed exchange rate for importation over a period of at least six months.

The Chairman, Board of

Trustees ( BOT), ANLCA, Taiwo Mustapha, registered the association’s displeasure over the escalating exchange rates, warning that the group would partner with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria ( MWUN) and the Nigerian Labour Congress ( NLC) to enforce and ensure that the strike action is successful.

Mustapha said with the recent surge in the exchange rate, reaching about N1800 per dollar, the association cannot continue to seat aloof, watching the situation while its members are suffering and businesses are shutting down.

He said: “As at Tuesday, the exchange rate from the system jumped to about N1800 per dollar. That is the effect of the inflationwe are having in the country today.

“This has affected most of our practitioners today. Volume of trade and cargo clearance has reduced drastically because people can no longer afford to import at that rate again. If we keep quiet, most of us we go out of business.

“We cannot afford to have our exchange rate, especially when it has to do with Customs duty on a floating level. “We are appealing to government to look into this issue but if nothing is done, at our own level, we will collaborate with the maritime workers union and the NLC to shut down the ports,” he said.

Also, the President of ANLCA, Emenikenwokeoji lamented the continuous changes in the official trade transactional rates sometimes up to twice or thrice in a day, making it impossible for clearing agents to provide credible quotes for jobs.

He said: “The issue of foreign exchange rates in relation to the naira has become somewhat intractable that we as the mouthpiece of the Customs brokers/ freight forwarders in Nigeria can no longer afford to be silent.

“It is a well- known fact that Nigeria’s trade has a predominant foreign exchange content and Nigeria being an import- dependent country, the effect of any exchange rate distortions can be devastating. Our major concern is about the exchange rates being used in computing import duty and other charges payable on imports.

“Apart from the elementary economics that teac hes us that no country can afford to allow her currency to be subjected to the la w of supply and demand without hurting her economy, the more pressing issue is that the constant and upward changes in the exchange rate for Customs trade purposes are putting everything in a state of

Head, Enterprise Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Olajumoke Bello ( left); Managing Director, Bastion Health Limited, Naomi Aduku; Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Dr Demolasogunle; Managing Director, JNCI Limited, Clare Omatseye, and Head, Commercial Client Coverage, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Babatunde Akindele, during the Stanbic IBTC Healthcare breakfast session in Lagos.