By Abisola THOMPSON
The Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS) is in support of payment of registration fees initiated by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) but seeks more time to pay the fees.
TBI Africa said that the President of the Association, Rev. Jonathan Nicol made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to him, we support the fees for identification purposes because some freight forwarders are operating without offices.
“ The registration fees will enable Shippers’ Council to verify port operators’ offices before registering them.
“Some people do not have operating offices and one cannot get certificate of operations if one does not have an office. This is what we want NSC to streamline.
“I appeal to those who are quarreling that when we register the first year, we have 12 months to look how it works and if it is something we have to condemn, we will do so, ‘’ Nicol said.
He, however, urged port operators to form synergy to enable them have smooth operations and reduce the time of doing business.
The NSC, had in Feb. 27, 2019, announced a 50 per cent cut across board on the registration fees it recently introduced for operators in the maritime sector.
The NSC proposed the fees after consultations with relevant stakeholders.
The breakdown shows that shipping line agencies and seaport terminal operators would now pay N50,000 down from N100,000, while Inland Container Depot operators would pay N25,000 instead of N50,000.
Warehouse operators, off dock terminal operators, stevedoring companies and cargo consolidators are expected to pay N10,000 instead of N20,000, while freight forwarders, clearing agents and haulage firms are to pay N5,000 instead of N10,000.
Shippers associations’ fee remains N5,000.
The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, had explained that the fees were “one-off payment that would help the government in policy formulation and also rid the sector of quacks’’.
