…appeals to SON, NAFDAC to stop charging cargo examination fees
By Seun Ibiyemi
A former spokesman of the Shippers Association of Lagos State (SALS) and Managing Director/CEO of Wealthy Honey Investment Limited, Dr. Kayode Farinto, has accused commercial banks of exploiting importers during the processing of Form M, a key document used for cargo clearance in Nigerian ports.
This is even as he urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to stop levies on examination of cargoes at the ports.
Speaking at the sidelines of the 10th Anniversary and Annual Seminar for Maritime Journalists, Farinto, who also served as acting national president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), revealed that less than 20 percent of cargoes entering Nigerian ports actually require Form M, leaving importers vulnerable to delays and extortion by banks during clearance.
“What is the importance of Form M to cargo clearance from the ports? I stand to be corrected, except where it is valid for foreign exchange, Form M is not adding any value to cargo clearance,” Farinto said.
He explained that Banks often delay cargo clearance by shifting agents over HS-Codes, leaving cargoes trapped in the ports while importers are forced to pay additional fees.
Farinto called for a review and potential scrapping of Form M for cargoes not valid for foreign exchange, saying this would significantly reduce delays and improve efficiency at the ports.
He added, “We all know that Form M is very important for cargoes valid for foreign exchange because it helps in remittances and documentation. But how many of the cargoes at the ports are valid for foreign exchange? Less than 20 percent.
Yet importers are being forced to open Form M for every cargo, creating an avenue for banks to extort them.”
He also advocated for strict accountability measures, calling for the prosecution and imprisonment of bank CEOs who encourage workers to delay cargoes or engage in extortion during cargo clearance.
Farinto’s comments come amid ongoing debates on the efficiency of Nigeria’s cargo clearance procedures, highlighting concerns over bureaucratic delays, regulatory inefficiencies, and the financial burden on importers navigating port operations.
According to Farinto, “SON issues a document that is called SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP). SONCAP is an offshore certificate, yet SON still levies importers over cargo examination procedure. Is this not strange that after issuing an offshore certificate, SON still collects money from importers for examining their cargoes.”
“This is not a problem only applicable to SON. NAFDAC also collects money from importers for examining their cargoes. Do you know that if importers refuse to pay for cargo examination, SON and NAFDAC won’t let the cargo leave the port?”
“SON is supposed to regulate imports and ensure that what an importer is bringing into the country conforms with the SONCAP that has been collected offshore. There must be attitudinal change from every government agency operating inside the port industry.”
“Some of us cannot wait for the National Single Window (NSW) to come up live because it will solve a lot of problem.As I am standing here, one of my staff may be at SON office in Victoria Island doing documentation, and another one will be at NAFDAC office also doing documentation. But with Single Window, everything will be done in one electronic transaction.”
“I give it to our National Single Window team for what they are doing, and I hope we achieve desired results. There can only be desired results when every government agencies shelve their personal interest for national interest.”
“I will want our Single Window Committee to look at interconnectivity. They have done so much in the area of single-entry point transactions and digitalisation, but they need to look at interconnectivity so that the Single Window operations can be seamless.”
“As we speak, there is no legal framework legitimising the various government agencies Acts that will be sub-merged under the National Single Window. SON, NAFDAC, Quarantine, Customs all have their Acts guiding their roles. We need a legal framework that will submerge all these Acts under the Single Window processes,” He said.