How clearing agents, others connive to evade wharf tax

 

Findings have revealed how clearing agents connive with military personnel to evade payment of road taxes on imported Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) cargoes at the Lagos seaport of Apapa and Tin-Can ports.

The spokesman of the Lagos State Wharf Landing Fee Collecting Authority (LSWLFCA), Mr. Michael Oputeh, explained that many of the cargoes that come into the country, particularly vehicles, are not paying the Lagos State road tax because clearing agents use military personnel to clear such cargoes.

According to Michael Oputeh, “Many cargoes that come into the country now evade the Lagos State wharf landing taxes. Cargoes like mostly vehicles don’t pay these taxes because clearing agents now connive with military personnel to evade payment.”

When asked how the clearing agents use military officials to evade this Lagos State tax, Mr. Oputeh explained that, “For some of the vehicles that come into the country through our ports, no wharf landing taxes are paid to the Lagos State government in line with the State laws guiding imports into the country.

“Clearing agents connive with military personnel to evade these taxes. The wharf landing fee is a road tax and is only collected on cargoes when the cargoes are leaving the ports. For vehicles, clearing agents ask military personnel to help them drive these vehicles out of the ports.

“So when our officials see these vehicles with military men driving them out of the ports, there is nothing our officials can do because of the respect for the uniform. We later found out that these military officials are not the owners of the vehicles, but where contracted by the clearing agents handling this jobs to help them drive the vehicles out of the ports.

“In a nutshell, the Lagos State government is losing revenue through the connivance of clearing agents and military men on Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) cargoes at the ports.”