STOAN accuses Customs of not paying 25% statutory charge on auctioned containers

The operators, who condemned the process of Customs action over what they described as ‘lack of transparency’, lamented that for several years now, Customs has failed to keep to the agreement, which mandated it to pay 25 percent charge from the value of all auctioned containers in the country.

Bolaji Akinola, spokesman of STOAN, said in a statement that was sent to BusinessDay, that container terminals incur huge costs associated with the handling of overtime containers especially with the positioning of containers selected by Customs for auctioning, without any commensurate benefit even after auctioning such containers.

“Usually, it is after selling the auctioned containers that they are supposed to pay the statutory 25 percent. But for years, they have been moving containers to Ikorodu without paying us the statutory 25 percent of the auction value,” he alleged.

Continuing, he explained: “It costs about $10 to lift a container once. For example, we may have to move seven or more containers to get to the one requested by Customs for auction, and this comes at a huge cost. So, it is causing big operational cost for us that need to be catered for.”

Akinola further stated that containers are selected haphazardly for auction.

“When overtime cargoes are to leave the port, Customs should not pick a container that is 500 days and leave a container that is 1,000 days old. Customs should abide by the contract and regulation guiding auction,” he said.

Akinola also urged Customs to as a matter of urgency, commence the auction of overtime cargoes, which he said, has become a threat to the space at the terminal.

“The problem of abandoned and overtime cargo is not just affecting terminal operators alone, but it affects the entire shipping industry. When you have a port that is congested with overtime containers, it is a recipe for disaster. For example, a terminal that has a capacity of 500,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), but has been made to restrict its capacity because of the congestion, is really a cause for worry.

Akinola however pointed that there are several export containers which have been abandoned in the port that are also taking up spaces. If, we can get rid of these containers, we can take more boxes in, free up the Lagos road and congestion will not be at the port.”

Recall that Lucky Amiwero, member, Presidential Task Force for Reform of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has earlier last week, called on the Presidency to decongest the port by removing un-cleared and seized cargos from various terminals in the seaports.

He stated that the cargos need to be moved to the federal government warehouse at Ikorodu by Customs, as statutorily provided in the Customs and Excise Management (CIMA) Act C45 of 2004.

AMAKA ANAGOR