Imported vehicles trapped as Customs deactivates five-star terminal over N97.3m debt
17 July 2022 |
2:40 am
Scores of imported vehicles are currently trapped at the Five-Star Logistics Terminal in TinCan Island port following the Nigeria Customs Service blockade of the exit access over unpaid debt
Tokunbo Vehicles
Scores of imported vehicles are currently trapped at the Five-Star Logistics Terminal in TinCan Island port following the Nigeria Customs Service blockade of the exit access over unpaid debt amounting to about N97.3 million.
Five-Star Logistics is one of the terminals in Lagos port that specialises in handling imported vehicles through the Roll-On-Roll-Off arrangement.
The clearing agents whose cargo is trapped inside the terminal of the company have threatened to drag the operators to court for breach of agreement if the matter is not resolved by July 19, 2022.
Public Relations Officer of the Command, Uche Ejesieme disclosed that in the course of investigation and auditing, the system revealed an unpaid accumulated amount, hence the reason for the blockage.
“I can authoritatively confirm to you that the service has blocked the exit access for Five-Star Logistics following an investigation that led to the discovery of unpaid assessment to the tune of N97.3m”.
He declared that the management of the terminal has engaged the command in discussions and has already gone to the Customs headquarters in Abuja to resolve the crisis.
Uche, while sympathising with the importers whose cargoes are trapped in the terminal over the development, urged them to exercise patience while the terminal operators resolve the logjam.
He further declared that Customs would not condone any act by an operator to hold on to the Federal government’s money.
He explained: “It was in the cause of the investigation and auditing that the matter came up and the system triggered on its own to reveal the unpaid assessment.
“That is one good thing about the system we are running now. There is no way anyone can escape any act of criminality such as duty evasion or compromise. You can’t hide anything, as the system will automatically trigger by itself to expose any anomaly.
“The important thing is that they (Five-Star Logistics) are owing the government and I will advise them to go and pay. They are a very big organisation and they can’t afford to just keep the consignment of importers because of this small amount of money.
“If we are not convinced that they are owing, Customs will not close their access and Customs would not allow government money to be hanging,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Acting President, of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, has asked the terminal operator to solve the issue before Tuesday or they would be sued for breach of the agreement.
He said, “It has been brought to the notice of the National Executive Committee (NECOM), that our members are unable to exit the already released vehicles and cargoes from the Five Star Logistics because the terminal operator has been deactivated from the Customs portal as a result of unpaid assessment running into millions of naira.
“We wish to inform our members that ANLCA is on top of this issue and we are saddened about the development. However, we shall give the terminal operator between now and next Tuesday to resolve their issue with Nigeria Customs Service, if not, we will be taking them to court for breach of agreement and failure to deliver these cargoes to the importers representative.
“Also, Five Star should know that it will be responsible for all demurrages and storage charges that may accrue within this period (July 6 to date).
“Finally, we urge our members to be calm and law-abiding and I will advise we keep the receipts of all payments during this period,” he stated.
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