Shippers’ Council opens up on why importers may not stop cargo under-declaration
Apart from revealing that more than 90 percent of cargoes imported into Nigeria are under-declared at ports, the Executive Secretary and chief executive officer of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Bar. Hassan Bello has said that importers connive with certain government officials to undervalue their goods to rob the FG of revenue.
According to him, the near 100 percent cargo under declaration is rubbing the country of billions of Naira in revenue.
However, his candid revelation that importers connive with certain government officials to undervalue their goods to rob the federal government of revenue remains an issue of concern which must be stopped if the economy will gain from the emerging Blue Economy platform.
Bello disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the acting chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Usman Abubakar, maintaining that “About 90 percent of the goods coming into Nigeria are under declared. There is massive connivance to under-declare value of goods to pay lower duties. So government is losing a lot of money. There are so many leakages”.
However, to handle the economic sabotage, NSC boss averred that the Council is introducing the cargo tracking note, a technology that will track all goods from their starting point till they reach their Nigerian ports.
Business Hilights gathered that with the technology, all the value of the cargo will be known and no one can conceal goods at the ports. There is no hiding place with this technology.
Apart from finding out the real content of every cargo, the new technology will among other things, end cases of illegal arms and dangerous goods imports as it will track all at the ports and lead to their eventual seizures.
