Ibrahim Tanko, the National Coordinator of NAGAFF Compliance Team, said at a press conference in Lagos last week that freight forwarders and clearing agents are not complying with the requirements for clearing goods from ports.

It appears, clearing agents and freight forwarders favor sharp practices over port procedures in order to maximize revenues.

According to Tanko, freight forwarders and clearing agencies are responsible for more than 60% of trade violations at ports.

He did caution, however, that the penalties of cutting corners, if a freight forwarder or clearing agency is discovered in the act, greatly exceed the benefits.

“If everyone does the right thing and declares 100%, there will be no need for Demand Notices (DN) to begin with.

Unfortunately, some of the complaints made by members are often humiliating. We need to discipline ourselves for smooth operations since the more mistakes we make, the more problems we will have.

There must be a law that governs every organization, and there is a law that guides Customs. So, if you do something wrong on purpose, you should be able to pay the penalty.

“If a DN is raised and you don’t understand and you feel you’re right, submit a complaint letter to the CAC (Customs Area Controller); the CAC will instruct them to go and inspect the cargo,” Tanko said. – Source shipsandports.com.ng