Agents Demand 5% of Customs Revenues

Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), has urged the incoming government to give the association five per cent of the total revenues generated through customs. Its President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, who made the plea in Lagos, said that freight forwarders should be compensated for their contributions to revenue generation.
He added that government should consider giving the customs agents the five per cent commission on duties collected, so that there would be dramatic increase in revenue generation. Shittu said: “Government pays commission to all their agents. They use contractors, they pay all consultants. We are consulting for the Federal Government. That is why revenue generation has been going up.
‘We are supposed to be part of it in order to encourage port compliant and commitment. Government should concentrate on maritime industry as alternative to oil revenue because there are a lot of untapped resources in the maritime industry.” He said that the auto policy, should be reviewed and do an amortization for five years before we can scrap used vehicles.
Shittu added that the disparity between the few paying duties of 20 per cent for brand new vehicles as against ordinary Nigerians bringing their own at 70 per cent should be reviewed. He advised government to establishment of small-scale industries to produce vehicle parts would enhance job creation. The president said: “our ports should be made more competitive by reviewing all the tariffs in all the spheres within the maritime industry so that diversion of cargo to neigbouring countries would stop.” Shittu advised the Federal Government to monitor the Internally Generated Revenue of the maritime industry.