KOREDE FOGO
Guarantee Trust Bank Limited, on Thursday, has said that their suspension from the portal of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), was as a result of technical issues being resolved by the two organisation.
Guaranty Trust Bank in its reaction 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, 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 said
Recall that BUSINESSINSIDERNG, had reported yesterday several Importers’ cargoes are trapped at the Lagos seaports due to the suspension of Guarantee Trust Bank Limited, from collection of duties on imported cargoes.
The Taskforce Chairman of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tin Can Port Chapter, Alhaji Rilwan Amuni, lamented demmurage and storage charges have accrued on cargoes at various terminals as they couldn’t be exited from the ports due to the shutdown.
According to him, “there was no official notice or circular from the service to warn the agents from making payments through the suspended bank.
“There are cargoes we have paid duty on, using Gtbank, some people have paid money, while some have captured the cargo for payment. It is unfortunate that when we are about processing our documents after payment, the customs did not attend to the jobs we have paid for, they said that Gtbank has been suspended from their portal
“Since last week Friday, most of our jobs have been trapped at the port until now, and this is happening at all ports generally.
“I want to believe that the remittances to the Federal Government has not been paid for some time and this could be the reason. Ordinarily, Customs should have cleared the cargoes we have paid for, but they have refused. The effect is that we are going to be paying huge demurrages, the customs are supposed to inform the shipping companies, in order to help us from paying these demurrages but they would not do that, there is lack of communication among all the players at the port.”
Confirming the development, the national public relations officer, Timi Bomodi, said the shutdown was as a result of a directives from the National Assembly.
“The suspension of Guarantee Trust Bank was a directive from the National Assembly,” Bomodi said.