- PAD Charges Illegal, Says NSC Boss
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, has said that the Port Additional Destination charges introduced by a shipping company, CMA CGM, are illegal.
An online maritime journal, Shipping Position, quoted him as saying that there was no way a shipping company would unilaterally introduce or increase charges without recourse to the council.
CMA CGM had in a letter dated October 10 announced new levies of N38,000 per 20-feet container and N76,000 for 40-feet container as PAD.
Hassan however explained that it was only one firm that introduced the charges, adding that the fees were illegal.
He said, “The charges are illegal; any charge that the council has not cleared is illegal. Shippers should not pay. We are negotiating the charges already; so, where is this one coming from? It is an aberration”
Also, the Media Relations Officer of the NSC, Mr. Remmy Nweke, was quoted as saying that the council had written to the shipping company and that the Ministry of Transportation with the Nigerian Ports Authority was engaging the shipping company alongside the shippers’ council.
“We have written to them; we are discussing with them about it. The NPA, the ministry and everybody involved is working on it,” he said.
Non-oil exporters recently complained about charges by shipping companies, noting that the way shipping companies raised charges arbitrarily did not reflect the government’s vision of encouraging non-oil exports.
One of them, Mr. Sotonye Anga, who is the Secretary of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, said the charges added to the cost of exports and made goods from Nigeria very uncompetitive in the global market.
Following the concerns raised by the stakeholders, Bello opened up a platform to renegotiate the charges and informed our correspondent that the council was looking into the concerns of the stakeholders with the aim of renegotiating the charges.
