Even though the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has suspended the proposed collection of transaction fee on all cargoes coming into the nation’s ports by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), some vehicle-importers have advised the Federal Government not to include vehicles on the list at all.
The proposed transaction fee collection scheme had stated that importers will pay the sum of N500 on every car imported into the country while a whooping N1000 and N2000 will be paid on heavy duty trucks respectively.
Even though the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has suspended the proposed collection of transaction fee on all cargoes coming into the nation’s ports by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), some vehicle-importers have advised the Federal Government not to include vehicles on the list at all.
The proposed transaction fee collection scheme had stated that importers will pay the sum of N500 on every car imported into the country while a whooping N1000 and N2000 will be paid on heavy duty trucks respectively.
A cross section of vehicle importers who spoke with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week advised the Federal Government to look into how the clearing procedure in Nigeria can be improved instead of putting policies in place that will make Nigerian importers to embrace neighbouring ports in West Africa.
An importer, Mr. Alloysius Chima, told our correspondent that, ‘if the Government insists on the collection of transaction fee which ranges from 500, 1000, and 2000 respectively, most people that import vehicles into the Country will suffer because it will lead to a situation where vehicles will come in from other neighboring ports of West Africa”.
Chima explained that those who import trucks into the country in hundreds of units will be the major victims of the suspended policy of the federal government.
According to him, government should address the issues of arbitrary charges by shipping companies and the unwholesome charges levied on importers by the terminal operators instead of creating more problems for the stakeholders.
He said that the cost of clearing Vehicles at the port is currently very expensive and that the collection of transaction fees on imported vehicles will only lead to inflation in the price of vehicles in Nigeria.
“What we pay to clear vehicles from the port alone is expensive and I want to say that the new fee by the government will lead to an increase in the price of cars in the country”.
“The Government should not only suspend the fee but they should forget about it completely”, Chima noted.
Another importer, Chief Evans Ogbonna reiterated that Importers are part of the major stakeholders that suffer from most of the policies that surround the maritime industry.
He noted that it is unhealthy for government to come up with policies that will negatively affect everyone in the country and the cost of doing business in the nation’s seaports.
He said that the government should put in place policies that will encourage Importers instead of what will scare them away or make them run out of business.
“The only way to help us as importers is for them to encourage us in the areas of charges on imported items, but the Government is not being fair with us, rather they want us to pay more”.
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