Clearing Agent Urges Investigation Into Shipping Lines Over Manifest Violations

Former Acting National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto has called on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to probe and punish shipping firms allegedly involved in the declaration of false cargo manifest at the nation’s ports.

He said the practice is hampering cargo clearance, promoting corruption and incurring avoidable costs on freight forwarders and importers.

Farinto made the call after he participated in a House of Representatives breakfast session where stakeholders made policy recommendations on reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s maritime industry and improve trade facilitation.

The former acting president of ANLCA particularly mentioned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Hapag-Lloyd as shipping lines whose cargo manifest practices, in his view, require the urgent attention of the Customs Service.

He alleged that the shipping companies regularly submit electronic manifests showing that all the containers listed for a vessel are bound for Nigeria, while only part of the cargo is discharged at the Nigerian ports, with rest of the containers left in the neighbouring countries.

Farinto explained the alleged practice saying, “a shipping company might send an electronic manifest to the Nigeria Customs Service that a vessel is coming with 300 containers.

But when the ship arrives, only some 150 containers are unloaded, the rest being held at ports such as Cotonou in the Benin Republic or Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

“The Customs assume that every container listed has arrived in Nigeria when it processes the electronic manifest,” he said.

He said when the remaining containers are brought into the country on another vessel, the Customs system considers them as overstay cargo because they were already captured under the previous manifest.

Farinto cited the hypothetical vessel MV YINKUS, noting that once the manifest of the vessel is processed, Customs expects that all the 300 containers declared on the manifest should have arrived.

“Then when the other vessel finally arrives with the other 150 containers, the Bill of Lading is blocked by Customs because the system believes the cargo has already arrived. Then it goes to abandoned cargo, and can’t be processed electronically,” he said.

He said that the affected freight forwarders are then forced to go for manual intervention before the cargo can be cleared.

The process, he said, created unnecessary human contact in the clearance of cargo and provided opportunities for extortion and corrupt practices.

This is the way to encourage corruption because if your Bill of Lading is blocked, you cannot make your declaration electronically. “You’re forced into physical contact and everybody knows what that means,” he said.

Farinto lamented that freight forwarders across the country have continued to suffer the brunt of the alleged practice, adding that complaints of practitioners have been more frequent.

“I am tired of hearing our members complain. “This has become a serious challenge in cargo clearance and it is one that Customs must investigate urgently,” he said.

The maritime stakeholder also urged the Nigeria Customs Service to thoroughly investigate the vessels of the affected shipping companies.

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Customs should compare the number of containers declared in electronic manifests with the number discharged from each vessel arriving Nigerian ports, he said.

“If a shipping company indicates to Customs it is bringing 300 containers, Customs should verify that all 300 containers actually arrived. If they don’t, there need to be consequences,” he said.

Farinto said the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 authorizes the Service to penalise shipping companies that violate the cargo declaration procedures.

He maintained that lodgement of a manifest for cargo not on board a vessel is a breach of Customs regulations and should attract appropriate penalties.

“The law is pretty clear. When you file an electronic manifest with the Nigeria Customs Service, you have an obligation to verify that all the cargoes on that manifest are on that vessel. “If not, there should be sanctions,” he added.

He further submitted that in case the shipping companies are not in a position to ship all the listed containers in a particular voyage, they should file fresh manifests for the subsequent vessel carrying the balance cargo, instead of relying on the original declaration.

This would remove unnecessary bottlenecks and maintain the integrity of Customs’ electronic clearance system, he said.