Seaports: Customs responsible for 82% of charges —Report

A study by Nigeria’s leading accounting firm, Akintola Williams Deloitte, has blamed the high cost of doing business at the nation’s seaports on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other government agencies, claiming that Customs processes are responsible for not less than 82.1 per cent of the charges incurred by consignees.

This assertion was contained in an industry report titled “Public Private Partnership (PPP) as an anchor for diversifying the Nigeria economy: Lagos Container Terminals Concession as a Case Study” which it has just published and copy of which was obtained over the weekend.

Akintola Williams Deloitte stated that its value chain analysis of a 20-foot container laden with cargo worth N44.42 million ($100,000) imported into Nigeria from China, revealed that about N6.5 million would be required to clear and transport the container out of the port.

It said of this amount, about N5.3 million (representing 82.1 per cent) is paid to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as Import Duty, Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS), ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), Port Development Surcharge and Value Added Tax.

The firm further stated that other actors in the value chain include Shipping Companies, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Terminal Operators, Clearing Companies and Haulage Services providers.

It said Shipping Companies are responsible for 13.8 per cent of the port cost (N897,000); Terminal Operators 1.8 per cent (N117,000); Customs 82.1 per cent (N5.3million); Transporters 1.1 per cent (N71,500) and Clearing Agents (N78,000).