3rd December, 2010
The proposed collection of Cargo Clearance Due (CCD) on imported consignments at Nigerian seaports, airports and land border stations by a coalition of the nation’s freight forwarding associations is expected to enrich the purses of these bodies to the tune of over N10 billion annually.
The seaports alone are expected to yield over N7 billion annually from the CCD, going by 2009 cargo throughput at Nigerian ports and the CCD tariff structure.
According to statistics obtained from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in 2009 seaports recorded 66,908,322 metric tonnes of bulk cargoes and 999,453 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) container traffic.
Information revealed that Nigerian ports handle an average of 2,000 imported units of cars and other vehicular traffic monthly.
The N3 billion that will make up the projected over N10 billion annually collections is expected to be generated from the imports coming through the airports and the land border stations.
The leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLA), the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN) and National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC), have agreed at a meeting recently in Lagos to collect the CCD to fund their joint operations.
The meeting, which was tagged Town Hall Meeting of Freight Forwarders, was attended by the national presidents of the aforementioned associations at Villa Park Hotel, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
The forum agreed that the CCD is payable on every cargo imported through any of the nation’s entry points. According to the associations, the money will be used to set up two Joint Presidential Taskforces on Monitoring and Compliance.
National Presidents of ANLCA and NAGAFF, Prince Olayiwole Shittu and Mr. Eugene Nweke respectively, who spoke at the meeting, said that the taskforces were necessary because their members have allegedly suffered for too long at the hands of security agencies at the seaports, airports and the land border posts.
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