The Federal Government has intervened in the face-off between the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company, NLNG, over unpaid levies amounting to billions of Naira.
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The face-off between the two government agencies arose following what NIMASA described as the expiration of the ten-year tax holiday granted NLNG by the law establishing the firm. Under the Act, NLNG was exempted from paying 3 percent of its gross freight on all international inbound and outbound cargo to the government.
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However, NIMASA is insisting that the condition that warranted the exemption of NLNG from paying the levies terminated over ten years ago and that the latter should have started remitting its taxes and levies to the Nigerian government since 2004.
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The non-payment of the levies, which are believed to have hit billions of Naira, forced NIMASA to move against NLNG, disrupting its exports for many days.