The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed deep concern over the abrupt implementation of the newly introduced 4 percent Customs Processing Charge and called for its suspension.
The concern was raised by the LCCI on Friday in a statement signed and made available by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona.
Following the Chamber’s position, Almona called on the Federal Government and the Nigeria Customs Service to suspend the enforcement of the charge and engage in a structured sensitisation process to ensure that stakeholders are adequately informed and prepared before its implementation.
The statement said: “While we recognize that the 4% charge is backed by the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, specifically under Section 18, we are deeply troubled by the manner of its sudden implementation without consultations with relevant stakeholders.
“Section 23 of the same Act clearly mandates public notification and stakeholder engagement before the introduction of new charges.
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“Unfortunately, the business community, including importers, exporters, freight forwarders, and clearing agents, was not given any prior notice or opportunity to prepare for this additional financial burden.
“Beyond the absence of consultation, the Chamber wishes to have all government agencies concerned about and sensitive to any additional cost burden on businesses and regulations that can create a difficult business environment.
“Currently, businesses grapple with various levies, taxes, and charges.
“We are also faced with other policy cost implications like a high interest rate, increasing cost of operations due to inflation, and scarcity of FOREX to import critical input for production.
“Most recently, the business community has been grappling with a planned 50% hike in telecoms tariffs in the face of rising logistics costs due to high energy prices.
“This lack of consultation and sensitization contradicts international best practices, which require trade-related policies to be implemented through transparent and inclusive procedures.
“The sudden enforcement of this charge is already disrupting business operations, increasing transaction costs, and causing uncertainty in the trading environment.
“Such an approach is detrimental to economic growth and investor confidence.”
LCCI demanded more efficiency with the country’s port operations to ease the import and export of goods, reduce corruptive tendencies, and take trade facilitation as equally important as revenue generation, noting that the Nigerian Customs Service surpassed its revenue target for 2024 by over a trillion Naira, reaching N6.1 trillion.
Almona added: “This feat has informed an increase in the budget figure from N49.7 trillion to N54 trillion for the 2025 federal budget.
“With the massive revenue generation from the ports, we expect more investment into boosting port infrastructure, process automation, and a conducive business environment to support export earnings and boost our foreign exchange revenue.”
The Chamber asserted that the sudden implementation of this charge risks causing congestion at the ports, as many traders and clearing agents may hesitate to process shipments, leading to delays and possible disruptions in the supply chain, saying that such an outcome will ultimately hurt revenue generation for the government and impact the overall ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Almona indicated that uncertainties and controversies are toxic to the country’s business environment and must be carefully avoided.
She said with tariff wars across major world economies, Nigeria can position itself to take up emerging export opportunities.
The LCCI boss stated that while Chamber looks forward to a swift response by the Customs Service in backtracking on this levy imposition, it stands by its concerns as stated above and unequivocally call for the right things to be done at the right time, adding that it stands ready to collaborate with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that trade-related policies are executed in a manner that supports sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all Nigerians.
Recall that the CPC took effect on February 4, 2025.
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