The nation’s maritime sector is on edge as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) moves to introduce a sharp increase in licensing fees for clearing agents, bonded warehouses, and shipping chandlers. Industry stakeholders warn the policy, slated for January 2026, could destabilise the sector, put N3.5 trillion worth of investments at risk, and throw thousands of Nigerians out of work.
It was gathered that the revised charges amount to hikes of over 30,000% in some categories, a scale operators describe as “crippling” for an industry already reeling from shrinking import volumes.
In Lagos and Ogun States alone, where about 40 bonded terminals operate, some 14,000 direct jobs could be lost if the new regime forces operators to shut down. Analysts also project a broader fallout, including disruption to Nigeria’s $15 billion ship-handling business and the transfer of control to foreign interests at the expense of indigenous firms.
Sharp increases in fees and bonds
Documents sighted by Business Hallmark show the following adjustments:
Clearing agents/agencies: Licensing fees rising from N515,000 to N10 million, with annual renewals moving from N215,000 to N4 million.
Bonded warehouses: New licence fees leaping from N60,000 to N20 million, while renewal will jump to N10 million.
Shipping chandlers: Licensing charges increasing from N515 to N2 million, and renewals to N1 million.
Bank bonds: For clearing agents, bonds will surge from N350,000 to N20 million. Bonded warehouses’ bond requirement will rise from N50 million to N500 million, while ship chandlers’ bond will move up from N350,000 to N2 million.
Fears of ripple effects
Stakeholders caution that the new charges will inevitably be passed down to importers through higher service fees, chandling costs, and freight forwarding charges. This, they argue, would drive up the cost of imported goods, worsen inflation, and further congest the ports.
“This level of increase is unsustainable,” an operator said. “Many of us are barely surviving as it is. What this means is that only a handful of well-capitalised companies — many of them foreign — will dominate the space.”
Customs’ position
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, during a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja on August 7, 2025, defended the review, insisting that the adjustments were overdue and necessary to reflect prevailing economic realities.
However, industry watchers say the timing could not be worse, pointing to fragile trade flows and declining importation levels. They warn that the move, if implemented without adjustments, risks stifling local enterprise, discouraging new investments, and consolidating control in a few hands.
With less than five months to implementation, anxiety is mounting across the maritime value chain over a reform many fear could do more harm than good.
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