Greg Ogbeifun, the managing director and chief executive officer of Starzs Marine and Engineering Ltd., has requested that the federal government review the tax regulations that are harming the country’s growing shipping industry.
The statement was made by Ogbeifun on Friday in Lagos at the official opening of the National Executive Council of the Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES).
Addressing the tax regulations would allow the nation to build a worldwide trading fleet, according to Ogbeifun, who was also the event’s chairman.
According to him, most nations that flew their flags abroad were granted a five-year tax holiday and had all kinds of taxes exempted.
Due to the high cost of the transportation industry, Ogbeifun suggested that similar initiatives be supported.
“The ship costs $18 million, and the expense of importing it into Nigeria by Nigerians is around 14% of the ship’s cost.
“Nigerians must pay 14% in customs bonds, compared to foreign owners who must post 1% bonds to bring their ship.
“This immediately disadvantages a Nigerian who wants to work in this trade, and the government needs to address this,” he said.
He encouraged AMES to form a committee to assess where the tax policy recommendation stands right now.
According to Ogbeifun, political inertia prevented the implementation of proposals made in the past for the global trade fleet.
In addition, he praised the newly constituted Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy by President Bola Tinubu, saying that stakeholders had pushed for it.
He said that the minister should be given time to settle in and begin working as an understudy for the ministry.
He’ll probably start by tackling the internal discussion between the ministry and the department of transportation to determine which agency goes where.
We must not only plunge into problems, he added, “once that is established, the industry players will now have basis to put together ideas.”
He stated that the group will establish a shipping line, and the majority of that shipping line would be made up of experts, including marine engineers, attorneys, and many others.
We’ll make sure it has well-defined goals and is a well-organized company. We won’t be asking the government for anything specifically, but we do want them to be aware that this is a possibility and will help advance the sector.
These are the problems preventing us from getting on the national queue, according to the speaker.
There is work to be done, and the government is attempting to reorient things and find solutions. We, as an association, will be prepared to provide the necessary assistance, he said.(NAN
