VIN: Port Shutdown Continues As Customs, Clearing Agents’ Meeting Deadlocked

The peace meeting between the Nigeria Customs Service and stakeholders, to end the ongoing strike by freight forwarders over the implementation of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) valuation system ended in a deadlock as the clearing agents demanded a return to the status quo.

The freight forwarders also demanded a 90 days extension to enable them to clear the backlog of vehicles trapped at the seaports as a result of the implementation of VIN.

The Customs management team was in Lagos on Tuesday to mid-wife a truce between the service and the freight forwarders.

But the over six hours meeting which was held at the Service Training College, Ikeja, ended in a deadlock as the clearing agents insisted that the ongoing strike action would continue until the service reverted to the former duty.

Addressing the media after the meeting, the Deputy President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr Segun Musa, insisted that until customs gets back to clearing agents, the strike action at the ports will continue.

The NAGAFF Deputy President said, “The Customs has given us a time frame of Friday to get back to us. So, we will wait till Friday to hear from them. Until then, the strike continues.”

Also addressing the media, a foremost clearing agent, Prince Taiye Oyeniyi, of the board of the Association of Nigerian Clearing Agents (ANLCA), said clearing agents have been on the issue of VIN valuation for about two to five years.

“What are we saying? For instance, what is VIN valuation? This is to make sure that the chassis numbers of the vehicle are captured to tell the government through the customs how much to pay.

“But our argument now remains that a 15 years old vehicle, for instance, has a N2 million worth of value, cost, insurance and freight. Under the normal settings internationally, there is depreciation of vehicles on a yearly basis.

“We are pleading with them (customs) to go back to the management. Let them give us the period of 90 days to clear the backlog of trapped vehicles,” Prince Oyeniyi stated.

The Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Zone A, Modupe Aremu, who spoke on behalf of the service said the customs will modify the complaints of the clearing agents to arrive at a conclusive arrangement for the VIN.