By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos and Tochukwu Bliss, Abuja
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), yesterday, urged the Federal Government and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend enforcement of the newly-introduced four per cent processing charge.
The Director-General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, in a statement expressed concerns over the abrupt implementation of the processing charge, effective February 4.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday, announced the implementation of a four per cent charge on the Free On-Board (FOB) value of imports.
Spokesman of the Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, in a statement had defended that the directive was in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023.
In line with the provisions of Section 18 (1) of NCSA 2023, the NCS is implementing a 4 per cent charge on the Free On-Board (FOB) value of imports.
The statement read further: “The FOB charge, which is calculated based on the value of imported goods, including cost of goods and transportation expenses incurred up to the port of loading, is essential to driving the effective operation of the Service.
“Furthermore, the NCS acknowledges concerns raised by stakeholders over the sustained collection of one per cent Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) fee.
“It is a regulatory charge imposed for funding Nigeria’s Destination Inspection Scheme alongside the 4 per cent FOB charge.
“As a responsive government agency, the service wishes to assure the general public that extensive consultation is ongoing with the Federal Ministry of Finance to address all agitations raised by our esteemed stakeholders.”
The FOB charge, which is calculated based on the value of imported goods, including cost of goods and transportation expenses incurred up to the port of loading, is essential to driving the effective operation of the Service.
Structured sensitisation
However, Ms. Almona urged the government and the Customs Service to engage in a structured sensitisation process to ensure stakeholders are adequately informed and prepared before its implementation.
She noted that while the charge was backed by the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, Section 18, the LCCI is troubled by the manner of its sudden implementation.
According to her, Section 23 of the same Act clearly mandated public notification and stakeholder engagement before the introduction of new charges.
She continued: “Unfortunately, the business community, including importers, exporters, freight forwarders, and clearing agents, were not given any prior notice or opportunity to prepare for this additional financial burden.
“Beyond the absence of consultation, the chamber wishes to have all government agencies concerned, to be sensitive to any additional cost burden on businesses and regulations.
“Currently, businesses grapple with various levies, taxes, and charges and are also faced with other policy cost implications like high interest rate, increasing cost of operations and others.
“This lack of consultation and sensitisation contradicts international best practices, which require trade-related policies to be implemented through transparent and inclusive procedures.”
She further noted that already, the sudden implementation is disrupting business operations, increasing transaction costs, and causing uncertainty in the trading environment.
This, she added has put the ports at the risk of congestion, as many traders and clearing agents might hesitate to process shipments, leading to delays and possible disruptions in the supply chain.
