Disputing port charges with the Nigerian Shippers' Council
When a Nigerian importer can take container deposits, demurrage or a shipping line's conduct to the Shippers' Council, and how to book the dispute.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Logistics businesses in Nigeria
Any importer who has cleared cargo through Apapa, Tin Can or Onne knows the pattern. The container deposit is paid before release. The empty goes back. Weeks later the refund has not come, or comes back short, or the shipping line's agent says it is waiting for word from head office abroad. Meanwhile a demurrage invoice arrives that does not match the free days you were promised.
Most importers and clearing agents absorb these losses because they do not know where else to go. In Nigeria there is somewhere: the Nigerian Shippers' Council. This article explains what the Council does, which complaints it says it handles, and how to keep your books and your evidence straight while a dispute runs.
The Council's role at the ports
The Nigerian Shippers' Council says it was appointed Port Economic Regulator in February 2014, to create an effective regulatory regime at Nigerian ports for controlling tariffs, rates, charges and other economic services. It describes itself as a government agency under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy that regulates the tariffs, charges and practices of shipping companies, terminal operators and other service providers.
That makes it the natural first port of call, so to speak, when a dispute is about what a shipping line or terminal charged or how it behaved, rather than about the goods themselves.
Complaints the Council says it handles
The Council lists among the complaints it handles:
- punitive increases in container deposit rates;
- refusal or delay in refunding container deposits;
- unnecessary delay in receiving returned empty containers;
- refusal by consignees or agents to pay demurrage and charges; and
- post-shipment imposition of unfair terms.
The list cuts both ways. A shipping line can complain about a consignee who will not pay demurrage, just as an importer can complain about a deposit that is never refunded. Complaints can be lodged through the Council's Port Service Support Portal (PSSP).
Shipping lines that wait for "head office"
One complaint deserves its own mention because it is so common. A Council directive applying to all shipping lines, shipping agencies and maritime operators in Nigeria describes as unlawful and dilatory the practice of withholding operational approvals on the pretext of awaiting instructions from foreign parent companies or principals. The same directive notes persistent discourteous and dismissive communication by shipping companies to consignees and agents about cargo arrivals, export cargo evacuation and approvals.
If a refund, a release or an approval is being held up with that explanation, cite the directive when you write to the line, and keep the reply.
Freight and demurrage checked for the Central Bank
The Council also says it confirms the reasonableness of freight, demurrage fees and charter party fees on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to eliminate illegal capital flight. For an importer paying foreign-currency freight or demurrage, that is a reminder that these charges are expected to be reasonable and to bear scrutiny, not simply whatever the line chooses to bill.
The Council further says it is promoting the digitalisation and automation of all port processes, including cargo release and manifest submission, to cut costs, reduce human contact with cargo and abolish manual documentation. Expect more of the evidence you need to be electronic, and keep it that way.
Before you complain: build the file
A complaint is only as strong as its paperwork. For each disputed container, gather:
- the bill of lading and the delivery order;
- the receipt for the container deposit and the deposit terms you were given;
- the gate-in record or equipment interchange receipt showing when the empty was returned, and in what condition;
- the shipping line's demurrage or deduction invoice and its calculation;
- every e-mail and letter exchanged, including any "awaiting principal's instruction" reply; and
- a short timeline in your own words.
Keeping the books honest while the dispute runs
A disputed charge and an unrefunded deposit are both easy to lose track of. Treated properly in the books, they stay visible until they are settled.
The container deposit is money owed back to you. It is not a cost. Achekam lets a business post manual journals, so the deposit can be moved out of expenses into an asset account, such as a "container deposits receivable" account, with one line per shipping line if that helps. Achekam refuses an unbalanced journal or one dated in a closed month, and a posted journal is corrected only by a reversal, so the history of each deposit stays visible. When the refund arrives, it clears that account. If part of it is withheld and the dispute is lost, the shortfall becomes a cost at that point.
A disputed charge is still a bill. Record the shipping line's invoice as a supplier bill, line by line with VAT, so that the full amount claimed is on record. A bill without a purchase order waits for approval before it posts, which gives the person handling the dispute a natural hold point. Bills can be paid in full or in parts from a chosen bank account, so a forwarder can pay the undisputed portion to get the cargo moving and leave the rest open.
The evidence lives with the shipment. Document Centre is a folder-based store: create a folder per bill of lading, upload the six items above, tag the folder "disputed" and search for that tag at month end. A revised calculation from the line uploads as a new version, and the earlier one is kept.
At each month end, list open disputes and unrefunded deposits; month-end accruals for a logistics business covers how to treat charges you expect but have not settled. If you clear goods for clients and pass the charges on, invoicing duties paid for clients explains how to keep their money separate from yours.
Where to start
The Nigerian Shippers' Council's website sets out its role, the complaints it handles and the route to the Port Service Support Portal. Pull together the file for your oldest unrefunded deposit this week and lodge it.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
