The devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from N461 to N631 per US Dollar, which the apex bank sold at the Importers and Exporters (I&E) window, has led to strong indications that terminal operators at the country’s seaports have increased the cargo handling rate by 45%.
In line with the CBN’s directives, the Nigeria Customs Service likewise increased the official exchange rate for import duties payable from $422.30 to $589.
Services provided by terminal operators may include, but are not limited to, handling, storing, and inspecting cargo.
From all indications, the new rates could invariably translate into a corresponding increase in the cost of imports as importers would want to add up the differential on items at the open market in the months ahead.
Vice President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, in an exclusive telephone chat with our correspondent, said that while he was attending the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting he got a call that terminal operators had increased their charges by 45 per cent.
He said the new CBN exchange rate was a welcome development, but that it would also bring about a temporary setback in the nation’s economy.
According to him, Nigeria as a nation has been living on borrowed robes in that it has two exchange rates: one for those going on pilgrimage and another for those doing business.
He said, “This is why the naira has continued a downward slide on a daily basis. Meanwhile, in the last eight years we have had some categories of elite who collect about $2m every Monday at official rate and sell at black market rate. Let us assume that we have about 200 Bureau De Changes (BDC) in Nigeria. Multiply it by the number I have just mentioned and by the number of Mondays we have had in the last eight years then you will know the colossal amount that Nigeria has lost in the last eight years.
“But looking at it from the maritime side of it as a freight forwarder, it is going to increase customs duty. Just last week, our official exchange rate was $422.30, but this week it has jumped to about $750. Meaning if for example I had a Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) of say N10 million last week, I will now have to pay N12 million this week. That is the side effect of it.
Also speaking, Barr Ovien Imonitie, Secretary of ANLCA at Tin Can Island Port, noted that the exchange rate had increased as of the most recent check on Saturday morning.
Ada Peter
