Dr. Boniface Aniebonam (Founder, NAGAFF)
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam (Founder, NAGAFF)
Why should I not support it if it is at no cost, when you track cargo coming into Nigeria, you are providing trade information, we would rather congratulate the Nigerian Shippers; Council because it is part of their responsibility to enhance trade facilitation. What you could see from what the Shippers Council is doing with the CTN by bringing out under-declaration is that they will enhance customs operations; the CTN will help customs as much as the cargo information is made available to them. Don't also forget that the Customs also have its own risk management procedure; they have access to the original cargo manifest.
Dr. Frank Jacobs Udemba (President, MAN)
The Shippers Council came to inform us about the former Cargo Tracking Note which is now advance cargo declaration, they are trying to reintroduce it and we are satisfied with all the explanation they have given to us. But we think there is still need for the technical members of all the stakeholders to come together and further discuss it, but I think it is something that will help us at the end of the day. So we are going to support it. ?The fact that CTN will lower cost of freight means that it is good and we are going to support it.? We kicked against the former CTN because the provision was for MAN members should pay 150Euro per container and we figured that this was too expensive, though there was adequate consulting, but at the end of the day they came up with a document that was different from what we had agreed in the negotiations.?
Iyalode Alaba Lawson (1st Deputy National President, NACCIMA)
The Nigerian Shippers Council is having our 100 percent support on the CTN and we believe it will help the importer and the exporter, it will help to protect government’s revenue, it will also ease clearance at the port, so it will help us all over. Also, before cargoes are loaded all over the world, the Shippers Council? must have got all information about it, and when it comes to revenue too, importers will not be able to lie about what they are importing, if you have a Toyota car of 2015 and you are lying that it is 1999, you will be caught. The CTN will make cargo clearance faster for all the entrepreneurs using the port? and demurrage will be less because once the goods come in, they can easily be cleared.
Frank Ukor (President AREFFN)
?If the Shippers’ Council is sincere that there won't be any money paid on the CTN, then let's just watch and see if at the end of the day they will not come and re-introduce a levy, the re-introduction of the CTN is okay, since it is meant to take care of all the cargoes that come into Nigeria, even before the cargoes are loaded, as you are loading the container you are putting in information which will go into the server so that Shippers Council can also monitor it in order to know when is coming into Nigeria. The only thing we are worried about is if at the end of the day they are coming to ask for money, it means an additional cost to trade. CTN is good because it will give all parties concerned a foreknowledge of the cargo so you cannot under-declare your cargo.
Barrister Ada Akpunonu (Vice Chair, Tin Can ANLCA)
The CTN is a good idea because it is obtainable all over the world, with the global issue of security, no matter how developed you? are as a country or how developed your economy is, if there is no security you have not started because even foreigners coming to invest in the country like we have it today will not come. We know how much the insurgency has caused this nation. When you talk about declaration, the negativity there is about 50 percent, so there is need for the CTN so that these vices can be checked, it will enhance revenue and bring about standard in the process of clearing, most of the times you see people making wrong declarations, and those that make genuine declarations pay more for it, yet they are both going into the same market. One other thing about the CTN which Shippers Council has assured is that there is no cost to it.
Chukwuma Anthony (freight forwarder)
?I do support the Cargo Tracking Note, and I support the Nigerian Shippers Council to supervise it because it will reduce the pressure being experienced during the process of cargo examination and under-declarations. In a container, even the customs is not sure of what you have there and this was what led to pre-shipment inspection, this did not work out so we had destination inspection and still it was a flop, and now we have the PAAR. However if there is no corruption attached to this CTN, if the right content of the containers are declared, then things can go well. The CTN will not affect trade facilitation because every cargo owner will be genuine in their declaration. The Shippers Council should not only rely on the sea for CTN, they should know how to move to the borders especially at the North where borders are very porous.
Akanni Balogun (Customs Broker)
If it is a policy approved by the Federal Government through the Shippers Council, we have to try it and see if it will work, the other time the NPA tried to implement this CTN and we know what happened?. With this CTN we don't know what Shippers Council is coming up with, before you know it they might start demanding for money and everything will end up going to the last consumer in the market and thereby creating more problems for the masses. If the Shippers Council promised that CTN would not lead to addition cost then we would be observing them, after all, this means that nobody will be penalized for not paying. The CTN is good, from the port of loading you will be able to track your cargo wherever it is, if there is trans-shipment you will equally know about it, even from the confines of your office you can track your cargo, to me it is an improvement.
Bolade Lawrence (Customs Broker)
If it is not going to add to the cost of clearing, then there is nothing bad in it, but if it is going to add one kobo to the cost of clearing then it is not necessary because you can as well track your cargo by yourself, this is a modern age of computerization, you can sit in the comfort of your office and track your cargo. In those days when they started the CTN, they started collecting US$25 and it later went as high as US$200 per container, so if this new CTN will not add any cost then it would be better. But if the Shippers Council is assuring that there would be no cost, who will pay the company that would be operating the CTN? I suspect a situation whereby they might want to bring in cost later on just like the first CTN, all they needed first is general acceptance, but I hope this will not happen.
Discussion about this post