Customs brokers and freight forwarders in Nigeria have lost about N20 billion cumulatively as a result of fake and substandard importation of substandard products into the country.
National President of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Iju Tony Nwabunike, disclosed this at a one-day workshop on “Facilitating Trade Through SON’s Automated Services” in Lagos.
“We have an unsung ethic of promoting standard and best practices across various areas in the course of carrying out our cargo clearing function at the seaports, airports and border stations.
“Over time, the customs brokers have been victims of substandard importation by importers who, in some cases,failed to disclose to us the actual content or degree of compliance with extant rules like SON Conformity Assessment Programme(SONCAP).
“In view of copious challenges faced in our line of business, we have taken it upon ourselves to educate importers on the need for their compliance to safeguard lives and avoid losses emanating from seizures and destruction of fake and substandard goods.
“This task is daunting but we are not relenting because customs brokers have suffered an estimated cumulative losses amounting to over N20b in the last ten years for undertaking to clear goods discovered to be substandard.
“Let me put it clearly, that upon seizure of suspected fake or substandard goods after payment of duty, it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for an importer ,whose consignments were seized to pay you the balance of the agreed sum even after the broker have spent his money on the logistics.
“This is just a mild analogy of the costly price we as professionals are paying to achieve standards and build an enduring economy that will be beneficial to all” he said.
Nwabunike urged importers to take advantage of training and enlightenment opportunities provided by his association and corporate bodies like SON to keep complying.
He called on the Nigeria Customs Service to integrate SON into Nigeria Customs Information System (NICIS II) as a means to enhance trade and promote ease of doing business at the ports.