The barging industry, which has a potential income flow into the government’s account of $10 billion, is being crippled by double taxation and foreign currency fees, operators have warned.
Olubunmi Olumekun, the president of the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), claimed that operators must pay unstated fees before transporting containers, which are detrimental to the industry.
Additionally, he pointed out that the government only levies barge operators in dollars when transporting containers from Calabar to Port Harcourt.
“The government wants us to travel and pay in dollars, which is not done everywhere. They fail to realize that these containers will still need to undergo another transit from that port to their final destination anywhere in the world.”
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Freight still needs to be paid, too. As you can see, there is double freight, and the commission will still be charged. That is a twofold tax. We should support our neighborhood businesses, not have the government impose so many fees on us, he said.
Olumekun explained the fees and their impact on logistics costs.Stating that the government levies a $500 fee per container and that a barge can carry roughly 30 containers.
Currently, importers are charged N300,000 to N400,000 by barge operators to transport a container from the port to its destination.This is compared to N200,000 via road, he claimed.Out of the money the importer pays to carry his products, he claimed that barge operators still pay over N150,000 in fees to terminal operators, leaving them with very little money after business.
“The terminal charges are excessive. Terminal operators alone are collecting over N150,000 from us from the N300,000 we charge importers only to take the containers. We are not discussing your point of origin because you still need to load there and your intended point of discharge.” The barging industry is dying because of all these fees and delays, he claimed.
