CRFFN Lacks Legal Authority To Regulate Licensed Customs Agents, Court Rules

Harboursandport.com: Lagos, Nigeria – July 8, 2025: In a decisive legal blow to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), the Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the Council has no legal authority to regulate Licensed Customs Agents or collect the controversial Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) from them.

Justice D.E. Osiagor, presiding over Suit No. FHC/CS/765/2018, declared that the CRFFN—established under the CRFFN Act of 2007—was created solely to regulate freight forwarders, not Licensed Customs Agents (LCAs). 

The court emphasized that LCAs operate under the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), which places them under the exclusive regulatory control of the Minister of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The ruling invalidates a 2017 directive from the Ministry of Transportation that had required customs brokers to register with CRFFN and pay fees—including the POF—as a condition for port access and license renewal. 

The court called the directive “ultra vires, null, and void,” stating it imposed unlawful and conflicting obligations on LCAs.

The case was brought by the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), led by President Lucky Eyis Amiwero, who has long argued that CRFFN’s actions amounted to regulatory overreach. 

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Amiwero said, “We are not freight forwarders, We are licensed under a different law, and this judgment affirms that distinction.”

He also announced that the NCMDLCA would pursue refunds for all POF payments previously collected from customs brokers.

The CRFFN had projected N5 billion in annual revenue from the POF, which it intended to use for regulatory and developmental purposes at the ports. That plan is now in jeopardy. 

The Council’s Registrar, Igwe Kingsley Onyekachi, said the CRFFN was unaware of the court proceedings and had not been served notice. 

“We were not informed or notified by the court,” he said, adding that the Council is reviewing the judgment and will issue an official response.

The ruling sets a significant legal precedent by affirming the distinct regulatory boundaries between freight forwarders and Customs brokers. While both operate in the port environment, the court made it clear that overlapping functions do not justify overlapping regulation.