In a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the licensed customs agents lamented that VEP and TPF, which are contained in the rate paid to the terminals, legally authorised vehicles to enter ports for loading without any further payment.
The letter signed by the President, NCMDLCA, Lucky Amiwero, said it was illegal to double charge the same service of vehicle entry into the ports, which has been paid for by the importers through the customs agents.
According to the customs agents, N21,500 and N75,075 electronic call-up charges for 20ft and 40ft containers respectively have no direct bearing on cargo and are also not part of the service rendered on cargoes.
The agents said the lease agreement contracted by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) with the terminal operators incorporates vehicle entry permits and tenure parking rate per truck entering the port premise as contained in the maximum tariffs for cargo dues of vehicles.
According to them, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and terminal operators should be responsible for the payment of the electronic call-up system in line with the agreement.
They stated that it is strictly NPA’s responsibility to regulate traffic within the limit of a port or the approach to a port under section 32 (a) of the agreement and not the customs agents or importers.
The customs agents also noted that it is the legal responsibility of the authority to provide ease of access to the port, which is part of the Nigerian port infrastructure, to facilitate trucks into the ports.
Amiwero said the electronic call-up system charges are not tied to any service on Customs processing of import or export goods, nor directly involve service to importer/licensed customs agents as contained in the trade facilitation agreement (TFA).
He said the electronic call-up system is an infrastructure developed to facilitate the access of truck transport in and out of the ports, which is the responsibility of the NPA on infrastructure development for the movement of vehicles into the port.
