Following the decision of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) to seek judicial interpretation of the laws on maritime levies within the Nigerian waterways, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has reiterated the position of the Attorney General of the Federation who recently mediated in and resolved the dispute involving both parties.
Last month, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mallam Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) resolved the logjam over maritime levies in favour of NIMASA. The Federal Government thereafter directed NIMASA to grant concession to NLNG on levies it had been owing before September, while asking NLNG to pay outstanding levies from September 2009.
NLNG has now chosen to pay the levies but at the same time filed a suit at the Federal High Court asking for judicial clarity and interpretation of the legality or otherwise of the various levies imposed on NLNG by NIMASA.
In a statement yesterday by its Deputy Director/Head of Public Relations, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, NIMASA stated that position of the AGF, during the mediation between the two parties, was founded on the NLNG and the NIMASA Acts regarding payment and exemptions from maritime levies.
According to Osamgbi, “the NLNG Act indeed exempted NLNG from paying taxes and levies as an incentive for the investment of NLNG shareholders. But the tax and levies incentives were meant to be for 10 years or when the cumulative average sales price of liquefied natural gas reaches $3 in million metric British Thermal Units (MMBTU) as calculated in the First Schedule to the NLNG Act.”
He pointed out that the 10-year waiver ended in 2009, but as at 2004, the price of gas stood at $9 in million metric British Thermal Units (MMBTU), from when NLNG was expected to have commenced paying taxes and levies to the maritime regulatory agency.
The NLNG had claimed that it was exempted from the levies citing Section 7(7) of its Act which states: “Neither the company nor its stakeholders shall in any way be subject to new laws, regulations, taxes, duties, imposts or charges of whatever nature which are not applicable generally to companies incorporated in Nigeria.”
Osamgbi however made reference to Section 15a of the NIMASA Act which states that “the Agency shall be funded by monies accruing to the Agency from 3 per cent of gross freight on all international inbound and outbound cargo from ships or shipping companies operating in Nigeria to be collected and paid over to the Agency to meet its operational cost.”
He emphasised that the NIMASA Act 2007 could not be regarded as a discriminatory legislation as it applied “ships, small ships and crafts registered in Nigeria and extend to ships, small ships and crafts flying a foreign flag in the exclusive economic zone, territorial and inland seas, inland waterways and in the ports of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
In other words, ‘”the operations of the NLNG is therefore not targeted by the Agency as claimed,” the NIMASA spokesman further said.
Source: NIMASA
