CRFFN Says Container Deposits, Customs Charges, Others Increasing Cost of Shipping, Not POF

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By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has condemned criticisms against collection of its Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) saying that there are bigger constraints on the cost of shipping in Nigeria which has to be addressed.

Speaking with DAILY TREND NEWS, CRFFN Director of Research and Education, Dr Alban Igwe listed container deposits by shipping companies, un-receipted payments to Nigeria Customs Service and the Police, as well as high cost of haulage as the major cause of increase in cost of doing business in Nigeria.

The POF on the other hand is gazetted by the Federal Government through the National Assembly and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC)

While reacting to recent criticisms against POF, Dr Igwe said “CRFFN did not just wake up and instituted POF, before we started this collection, the national assembly has approved it, the Federal Executive Council has equally approved it”

“The POF is for freight forwarders, and since we started, no shipper has come up to complain that cost of clearing cargo has increased”

“There are bigger costs on the cost of shipping in this country, container deposit alone is a big cost on shippers and freight forwarders, the informal charges by customs are big cost on freight forwarders, transportation charges are a big cost on freight forwarders, police bribe and extortions are a big cost on freight forwarders. Among all these payments, none have been gazetted”

“If customs detain your cargo and they ask you to pay N100,000, the agent would pay up, and yet they are not reporting that as a major cost on shipping, the POF on the other hand is N1,000 which anybody can dash anybody on the road, and which eventually comes back to development of freight forwarders” he said

Meanwhile DAILY TREND NEWS gathered at the port that freight forwarders have started complying with payment of the POF.

Speaking with our correspondent, Secretary of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) at Tin Can Port, Barr Michael Imonitie Ovien said compliance to POF payment started since July 2021 and not even 1st of August as announced by CRFFN.

“CRFFN have already started collecting the POF, even right from 1st of July, even before August 1st that was announced by CRFFN, all the agents have been paying through their registered platform”

“The POF is for you to pay and show evidence of payment at the terminal, you attach it to your document if you want to write your TDO (Terminal Delivery Order)”

“It is not the terminal operators that are collecting it, we the practisioners are the ones paying through the platform of CRFFN, evidence of payment is what the terminal operators use in issuing you TDO” he said

The CRFFN is expected to rake not less than N15billion annually from the POF collection as all cargoes coming out of the port are expected to pay N1,000 per 20foot container and N2,000 per 40foot container.

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