The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has indicated it’s displeasure with the planned closure of the Direct Traders Input cafes and proposed issuance of Passwords to Corporate bodies, stressing that the “inherent flaws” in the new initiative would prevent Nigeria from meeting global best standards.

The body also warned in a letter dispatched to the Minister of Finance,  Kemi Adeosun, that the decision,  aside from threatening the livelihood of over 10,000 hardworking freight forwarders, would only further,  heighten the breaching of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA),  already begun by the Customs Board.

“First, we strongly opine from our informed knowledge that the practice of licencing of Corporate body to perform function may be inappropriate at the moment because it does not meet the global trends in international trade supply chain and security of cargo more so, in the context of the Act 16, 2007.

“There is the assertion that if freight forwarders practitioners feel strongly persuaded by the demand for Customs to license individual practitioners, we should approach the National Assembly for a review of the Customs law.  We say unequivocally that this is not only wrong but shows a level of misunderstanding of the CEMA to complying with realities of trade dynamics with regards to trade facilitation and control of fraudulent practices.  For the avoidance of doubt, Legal Notice 95 of 1968 made pursuant to Section 156 of CEMA clearly state that the categories of those that the Nigeria Customs Board can Licence include:

1.)    Corporate Bodies
2.)    Firms
3.)    Individuals

“This Legal Notice was given pursuant to Section 156 of CEMA as earlier stated.  For reasons best known to the Board of Customs they have continued to licence only corporate bodies.  We state here that it is the Customs Board that may have over time breached the CEMA with impunity by deliberately resorting to licensing only Corporate bodies despite the provisions under reference.  This is a subtle way of shielding Customs officers who may be allegedly holding a reasonable number of the operating licences of the Customs.  They hide under the veil of incorporation by proxies and cronies whereas they are the bona fide owners and operators of these licenses which they operate most times in the areas they are serving.

“We want to observe the inherent danger to revenue due to Government and security implications therein.  Many people hide under the veil of incorporation to perpetuate revenue crimes and security breaches in the Trade Logistics Supply Chain in our country.  It is a general believe that the reason the Customs Board may be tenaciously holding on to licensing Corporate entities may be to shield most Customs officers who for all purposes and intents holds and operates Customs licenses of their own.

“Second, it is also alleged that Customs License is being used to witch hunt and suppress voices that may possibly rise against the maladministration and mismanagement of Customs laws.  Others who hide under this veil are foreigners who owe no allegiance or loyalty to our dear country.  This is not only against the local content Act, it is stifling the actualization of the Cabotage Act as well.  Moreover, the global practice is that the issuance of Customs licenses are restricted to the indigenes of a country.

“We have said it that for the maritime sector reforms to be meaningful, particularly in the area of Customs modernization we have to professionalize the key operators by educating and training them to imbibe the spirit of international best practices.  It is only an individual not a Corporate body that can learn and acquire skills to fall in line with this Act.  This thinking is what predicated the enactment of the CRFFN Act 16 of 2007 which is a most recent Act to CEMA with an intent to provide this much needed change.  It is axiomatic that when two legislations make provisions concerning one or similar issue(s), with one earlier in time and making specific provisions of the same concerning the self same subject in resolving any conflict between the two the later enactment takes precedence and becomes superior to the earlier one.

“The Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) as amended was enacted in 1958 and made specific provisions in Section 153 (2)(b) as to who can act on behalf of an importer or exporter for the purposes of providing services to them in the cargo supply management chain.  The same CEMA in Section 156(1) has created effectively a regulatory framework under the “CUSTOMS AND EXCISE AGENTS LICENSING REGULATIONS” otherwise tagged Regulation 95 of 1968.  The provisions of Section 156(1) of CEMA and the subsidiary legislation deriving from it constitute the legal framework that sustains the regulatory regime existing under the Customs and Excise Management Act which is exercised by the Nigeria Customs Service to control a segment of the logistics supply chain called Customs Licensed Clearing Agents.

“We know as of a fact that the word Customs Brokerage is unknown to any law in Nigeria.  Customs brokers as sub-elements of the freight forwarding business have their set standards that are backed by an enabling Act.

“This is the standard that those other parts of the world like Canada, USA, Australia etc must comply with before they can be called Customs brokers.  They must have undergone a course of training in Customs formalities and duly certificated by the relevant authority as provided for by an Act of parliament.

” Right now it is only the CRFFN by virtue of Section 1 of the CRFFN Act that has the backing of the law to determine the Standards of Skills and knowledge to be attained by an individual to be registered as a freight forwarder.

“We have taken the pains to explain in detail what a freight forwarder is so that all these unnecessary confusion and breaches can be well understood.  We are told by the ACG Zone A of the Customs Pastor Charles Edike that as from the end of April 2016 all DTIs which served as cafes for the capturing of relevant documents for import clearance from all our entry points will be shut down and in their place only those with Customs licenses will be issued PIN Numbers as passwords to perform clearance of goods from the Customs control.  It is instructive to let you know that Customs licences whose RC numbers used to be used for this functions is no longer being in use.  Rather the Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) are being used in ASYCUDA declarations.

“This move by the Customs Service posses a grave danger for the freight forwarders who would be made to be thrown into the already over saturated job market.  What this means in effect is that as freight forwarders they would no longer be able to carry out their functions in the ports as it relates to Customs formalities.  We will want to inform you that this announcement by the Customs authorities is already creating restiveness in the port as the young freight forwarders are apprehensive of the loss of their means of livelihood.  We do hope that it does not result to violence and withdrawal of service by the greater numbers who are well over Ten Thousand Practitioners rather than  a less than 1000 operational licences of the Customs.  There is also the danger of a massive distress in the life of port operations in view of the fact that Nigeria Customs Service is a very strategic Agency of the Government in our entry points.  The country is presently grappling with a lot of challenges in the maritime sector and we feel that to add this not well thought out policy might be a disaster in the making.

“If we are to go by using the mischief Rule of interpretation of Statutes we would be right to posit that, taken in its totality the coming into effect of the CRFFN Acts was to cure the mischief inherent in the CEMA especially with regards to its regulatory functions of the Licensed Customs Agents.  In the collective wisdom of the law makers they discovered that in order to professionalize the freight forwarding practice, it is only individuals who can acquire skills and knowledge that is required to be professional freight forwarders and not corporate bodies who do not have the capacities and capability to acquire the professional skills and knowledge needed which is not obtainable presently by the relevant provisions of CEMA”,  the NAGAFF concluded,  urging Kemi Adeosun to parley with her Transportation counterpart,  Rotimi Amaechi to get better understanding of its argument.