Naccima, Others Root for CTN Levy

Alhaji Suleiman Hameen, vice president, Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (Naccima) has called for the reduction in the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) levy to avoid in increase in freight costs that will be passed to the final consumer, Nigeria Communica-tionsWeek can now reveal.
His position is contrary to the opposition of the levy by courier industry and manufacturers.
In chat with Nigeria Communica-tionsWeek, Hameen, who is also vice chairman, port industry anti-corruption standing committee and member of the technical committee on the CTN, admitted that the government made a mistake by not consulting with operators of the industry before preparing the policy but added that what could be done now was to make the best use of the CTN levy.
He said that the CTN levy was a good policy for the port, because it will ensure security of cargo in and out of the country.
However, he said, that operators should fight to pay per bill of lading as obtainable in other countries like Senegal and Cameroon where the system is being operated now, instead of paying per container.
According to him, one bill of lading can have up to 100 containers thereby reducing the charge.
Hameen, said that presently, the committee on CTN levy which has representatives of all the importers, exporters, shipping companies and manufacturers, are trying to harmonize the charges to bring it to the barest.
Also Toyin Olufade, president of Association of Nigeria courier operators (Anco) said the CTN levy should remain since it is a global thing, but stressed that the charges should be reasonable.
“As long as the CTN levy is reasonable, it should remain because it will ensure cargo security but if the charges are much, it will affect business and trade facilitation,” Olufade said.
Also, he called for the review of port charges, noting that if import and export duties become friendly, it will open up business opportunities and make for easy trade facilitation.
Stephen Ibe, another operator of the industry, is of the opinion that the CTN levy should be removed because it will add an additional cost to cargoes coming in and going out of the country.
Ibe, who is the managing director and chief executive officer of Stephens Global Services, noted that unlike other countries where such levies collected were made proper use of that of Nigeria will not be properly accounted for.
However, he agreed with the Naccima  vice president that if the CTN levy is charged per bill of lading instead of per container, it will go a long way to reduce the charge.