Reactions Trail Collapse Of VREG In Cargo Clearance, As Freight Agents Express Disappointment

Reactions have continued to trail the collapse of National  Vehicle Registry (VREG), platform which has triggered huge demurrage charges for freight forwarders and licensed customs agents for over a week.

Clearing agents operating at the Tin-Can Island Ports Complex, Apapa have complained about accruing storage and demurrage charges due to server breakdown.

Recall that in April 2021, the federal government commenced moves to create a National Vehicle Registry (VREG), an information system that will curb evasion of duty payment on imported vehicles, eliminate the sale of stolen, accident-wrecked and unsafe vehicles from the Nigerian market.

 

The platform stores detailed vehicular information such as; specifications, ownership, and history of each vehicle in Nigeria.

 

DAILYFOCUS NIGERIA gathered that this is the second collapse of the platform in less than three months since the introduction  by the federal government.

 

Speaking on the development on Thursday,  a freight forwarder , Saliu Remilekun Sikiru expressed disappointment over the server collapse  ,even as he lamented that VREG has continued to impede trade facilitation, mostly as it concerns vehicle clearance from the two major ports in Lagos.

 

Sikiru who is the leader, Tin Can Island freight forwarder and  licenced customs  agents,noted that”It’s really pathetic, for the VREG portal to have been hang for a week now is becoming alarming.

He called on the various associations in freight forwarding practice to engage the service in furtherance to finding lasting solutions to the incessant breakdown of the server.

 

“Freight forwarders are crying internally because  no one to cry to and nothing seems to be done concerning that.

 

“This is not the first time such is happening and we called on our leaders to look into this but nothing seems to be done about it.

 

“Since they create another portal for the VREG that after paying the dues an OTP code will be sent which will be used to access customs portal in other to pay customs duty has been a bottleneck problems, now it’ takes us to have a sleepless night which is around 3am before you can luckily access the VREG, for how long are will going to continue doing that?

 

“I urge all our head executives to help us and look into this, it’s a new year and a lot of stuff are on our head, we are really facing a lot of challenges in the clearing field.

 

On his part Mr. Owoseni Azeez , a customs broker expressed worries on the VREG collapse noting that “The nonchalant attitude of the platform is worrisome, before the collapse of the site,it came to our notice that some payments were made, the certificate was not issued and several calls were placed the VREG body, no refund was made and all the agents have to do another payment when their network comes up

 

“On many occasions the customer care of VREG advising agents to repay so as to avoid demurrage.

 

“As at yesterday 12/01/2022, same issue occurred, the victims have to make another payment so as to proceed with the customs clearance of their job.

 

“If they are not set for this as a result of the traffic on their page I suggest they go back and restrategies because this delay is adding to the port congestion.” Azeez lamented.

 

 

Similarly, another practitioner, Mr. Sanyaolu Oluwaseun , advocated for government to scrap the platform or intervene immediate for trade facilitation to thrive in port operations.

 

“The VREG issue has cost us too much loss in this industry in the aspect of demurage .

I want to plead to the government to either fix the problem permanently or scrap d system has all negative falls back on agent, we are the once suffering every flaws in this system .

“I know these system seems to be uncontrollable factors to our leaders In the industry but yet we are stakeholders and a third party between government and importers in regards to these I urge our leaders to please make a professional steps either In terms of strike or protest to make our cry be heard to the appropriate quarters so we can have a definite solutions to this problem,”he decried.

Responding, Public Relations Officer,Tin Can Island Command,Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Uche Ejesieme assured operators that the current challenges with the portal will soon fizzle out urging the freight forwarders and licensed customs agents to be patient as a result of the platform collapse.

 

Ejesieme affirmed that “I am sure you know that customs is independent of VREG as it is a federal government project but we are under obligation to partner with them for the purpose of ensuring that the VREG project succeeds.

 

Speaking further, he said “And that’s why the customs provided training facilities across the commands and also sensitized stakeholders on the project.

 

 

“On the current challenge the project is faced with teething issues which we believe are synonymous with pioneering challenges which occur in implementation and which will soon fizzle out.

“And so we urge stakeholders  to be patient with the team and we are also not relenting as we daily confront them with challenges faced by stakeholders as a result of failure of the platform

 

By Roland Ekama