Clearing Agents operating at the nation’s seaports, yesterday, said importers have incured demurrage and storage charges worth over N20billion due to the suspension of Guaranty Trust Bank from duty collection at the seaports.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, the acting president, Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), Kayode Farinto, threatened to shutdown the corporate headquarters of the Bank over inability of importers to clear cargoes out of the port.
Farinto, however, said that GTBank was suspended from the Customs platform over poor remitances of Customs duty to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Recall however that Guaranty Trust Bank in its reaction when the story first broke, had noted that the halt in Customs payments through the bank was not due to any default in the agreement.
Spokesperson of the Bank, Oyinade Adegite, speaking with LEADERSHIP, had explained that there were technical issues that are currently being resolved.
“I am aware that we had technical issues but it is not the impression that we were told to stop. I know we are trying to sort out one or two things in that aspect. We just have some technical issues that had nothing to do with the agreement. It is just with the platform,” she had said.
Credit: Leadership