CTN: Pass cost to shipping companies, ANLCA tells Council

THE umbrella body of nation’s Customs broker, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) this week, told the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), that ANLCA would support the Council’s Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) proposal, in so far as it would not attract extra cost, from importers.
The ANLCA National President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu indicated this Tuesday, when a NSC delegation,-led by MrsEnocheOgenyi, visited the ANLCA National Secretariat, as part of the Council’s effort to ensure widespread acceptability for the electronic CTN, through structured enlightenment/ sensitisation of relevant stakeholders.
Shittu said ANLCA was in support of any vision or device that seeks to ensure genuine declaration of contents, classification and value of cargo, to aid proper collection of Customs Duty for the Federation Account.; but would vehemently oppose any platform, likely to make the Nigerian importers pay more.
“ANLCA will mobilize popular resistance against the introduction of any form of cost to it.” Prince Shittu said, noting that in spite of the remarkable presentation on CTN by Mr Opeyemi Oke of Transport and Port Management System (TPMS) posting a “no cost” attachment, for a platform designed to boost Nigeria’s security in line with the ISPS code of IMO), his association was still uneasy, after the barrage of questions thrown at him, centred mainly on the perceived cost implication of CTN to Nigerians.
The association was nonetheless, happy that the stipends of administrative charge of $25 per container, was reasonably a far cry from $150 charged in 2009 when CTN was first introduced.
More so, as the delegation failed to adequately explain how an expected N17 Billion yearly cost from its reintroduction, meant to be shared between Shippers Council and TPMS in the ratio 65:35 was to be raised, without laying additional burden on importers..
Furthermore, shippers’ council must rescue Nigerians from the indiscriminate and unnecessary charges that Shipping companies and Terminal operators have slammed on the Nigerian Importer, because in the long run these high charges are passed onto the Nigerian consumer.