Gatekeepers News reports that the National Assembly ordered Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend and block GTB from duty collection at the ports, leaving importers and clearing agents who have made payments to the bank to face the demurrage charges at the ports as they could not complete the processing of their imports.
In a meeting with the bank, the association’s National Secretary, Babatunde Mukaila expressed displeasure with the manner the management of GTB handled its suspension by the Customs Service.
According to ANLCA, Customs had given the bank two weeks’ notice to resolve their challenges, but the bank neither resolved the issue nor made alternative arrangements in the interest of their customers. Mukaila noted that some banks have had similar problems in the past but quickly appointed a receiver bank pending the resolution of the matter.
ANLCA National Secretary, who asked the bank’s representatives how they plan to mitigate the losses, stressed that the approach of the bank amounts to negligence on their part, saying where there is negligence, someone or group suffers the penalty and as such in every detriment there must be compensation.
Similarly, other members of the association in attendance condemned the bank’s attitude and concluded that there will be no stand down on demand for adequate compensation.
In his response, Lanre Kola-Banjo who represented GTBank, apologised to the customs brokers and explained that the problem was a result of a technical fault from the server.
He however dismissed claims that the bank was given two weeks’ notice. According to him, it was discovered all of a sudden that the bank had been disconnected.
Kola-Banjo explained the bank was given two weeks after being suspended from accessing the NCS portal to fix the technical problem or face serious sanctions. He said that the problem has since been resolved.
He assured that the association’s demands will be taken to the top management of the bank for further action.
ANLCA Calls For EFCC’s Intervention
Worried about the rising demurrage amounting to billions of Naira, the ANLCA has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the GTbank activities.
The Acting National President of ANLCA, Dr Kayode Farinto who made the call on Wednesday, noted that the suspension of the bank has affected over 400,000 consignments, adding that the nation’s economy would have been affected too.
According to Farinto “The amount that Nigerian importers are losing as a result of storages and demurrages is running high and the problem is not yet over. These consignments are still trapped in the ports and agents cannot clear them.
“Even some who have made assessments cannot pay duty. It is running to over N40 billion now and that is very unfortunate.
“We have a situation on the ground where nobody is talking to Nigerians. Nobody is talking to our stakeholders, freight forwarders or Customs brokers. That is why there is a need for us to make the world know what is happening in the maritime industry.
“We have a situation whereby GTB must have erred through the issue of reconciliation. We heard that GTBANK has not remitted some hundreds of billion to the Federation account and they have collected this money on behalf of the Federal Government and that was what led to their suspension.
“The Committee on Customs at the House of Representatives directed Customs to suspend GTBANK from the portal. GTBANK has been suspended and some consignments have been trapped.
” As I talk to you over 400,000 containers throughout the federation who open their Form M through GTBANK cannot proceed further haven’t gotten their Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) because they must pay the duty through the Commercial or dealer Bank where you have opened your Form ‘M’ which are trapped now and there are over 40% of vehicles that needs to be cleared from the seaport which has gotten assessments that can also move forward and cannot go ahead.
“There are about 10% of people who have actually paid duty and as a result of the suspension, the status has not changed in the portal of Customs and they cannot move forward in the area of clearance of the goods.
”Hence we are calling on freight forwarders to make sure that from today the 6th of September, 2022 they should not open their Form ‘M’ or make any assessment or transaction through GTBank again.
“This has become imperative in the view of the fact that nobody is even talking to us. We sent a letter to GTB on this particular issue for them to address us and let us know what is happening but everybody is avoiding us. That is why I want to challenge the EFCC to wade in.
“I don’t know why the EFCC has not come into this issue. We are talking about the Federation accounts. This money has been collected on behalf of the Federal Government and remittances have not been done.
”When you hear that Customs have generated N2 trillion, these are the kind of factors that are militating against remittance. You would now see a situation where some of the commercial Banks collect this money on behalf of the Federal Government and will not remit it as and when due.
“So I believe It is about an issue of connivance because the CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation cannot tell us that they are not aware of this. Before it actually got to this dirty or messier level, they might have been some connivances between the CBN on one part and the Accountant-General of the Federation on another part for GTB to say some amount of money has not been remitted into the Federal Government account and nobody seems to be talking to us. Not even the National Assembly that directed that GTBank should be removed from the portal,” Farinto told reporters.
Emirates Airlines has confirmed its return to operations in Nigeria starting October 1, 2024. Gatekeepers…
Afemai Coalition for Asue Ighodalo has continued its campaign to drum up support for Dr.…
Perter Okoye, half of the music duo P-square, has announced he is undergoing hair transplant…
By Gabriel Omonhinmin Uwanno Kingdom is the bustling and riverine town of Agenegbode in Estako…
Newspaper Headlines: Five Things You Need To Know This Morning Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate…
Recruitment, apply for First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Recruitment 2024 below. Gatekeepers News reports that First City…