By Godfrey Bivbere

IMPORTERS and their agents are running away from scanning of their consignments following insistence that such scanned cargoes be subjected to 100 per cent examination at Tin-can Island Container Terminal(TICT).

Disclosing this to Vanguard, a group under the aegis of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed CustomsAgents (NCMDLCA), noted that the new trend is making them pay extra.

Speaking on behalf of the group, National Secretary, Uchu Block, said that TICT is the worse amongst other terminals atTin-can.

Block pointed out that most of the goods which are scanned there are referred back for physical examination resulting in about 10 to 12 days further delay.

Giving an example of a situation that happened to him recently, Block said a client imported  a 20 foot container of Completely  knocked Down (CKD) suit cases that came in through TICT.

He explained that the container was routed for scanning and after it was done, the result showed that there was discrepancy because of the zip and other components of the item.

The NCMDLCA scribe further noted that the container spent extra 10 days at the port before physical examination was performed on it while his client had to pay N30,000 more than the duty on the consignment as terminal operator and shipping company charges.

Efforts to speak with officials of TICT proved abortive as none of them was willing to respond when Vanguard visited.