Business

Foreign lorry drivers to be allowed to make more UK deliveries

Foreign lorry drivers will be able to make an unlimited number of pick-ups and drop-offs in a fixed period in the UK under changes to rules proposed by the government to prevent shortages of products in the run-up to Christmas and into the new year.

On Thursday, ministers announced a consultation on a plan to increase deliveries in the UK by temporarily changing so-called “cabotage” rules, which govern how many trips foreign transport firms can make within another country.

Currently, hauliers from the EU can only pick up and drop off goods in the UK twice in a seven-day period, but the proposals would allow them to make an unlimited number of deliveries across two weeks.

If approved, the plans would come into force before the end of the year and last for six months.

But lorry drivers reacted strongly against the move, saying “we don’t want cabotage to sabotage our industry”.

The lorry driver shortage in the UK – caused by the effects of Brexit, the pandemic and other factors – has affected petrol stations, supermarkets and has led to containers stacked up at Felixstowe port unable to be moved.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said the effect of the proposed change to cabotage rules was the “equivalent of adding thousands of extra lorry drivers to the road, but we don’t have to do anything with visas in order to do this”.

He told Sky News: “It’s a straightforward measure. It’ll come in towards the end of the year. It’s one additional measure to 24 as a government we’ve already introduced and there’s evidence that’s working.”

He added: “People will be able to get things for Christmas – these measures are having an impact, things are loosening up.

“When I talk to ports they’re saying ‘yes, it is busy, it’s a globally busy picture’, but if you compare us to many ports around the world, we need to keep this in proportion – things are flowing.”

Rod McKenzie, the managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We don’t want cabotage to sabotage our industry.”

He said: “I spoke to some of our members last night, they were appalled. Ridiculous, pathetic, gobsmacked were some of their more broadcastable comments.

“The government has been talking about a high-wage, high-skill economy, and not pulling the lever marked ‘uncontrolled immigration’, and to them this is exactly what it looks like: allowing overseas haulage companies and drivers to come over for perhaps up to six months on a fortnightly basis to do unlimited work at low rates, undercutting UK hauliers who are facing an acute driver shortage, rising costs, staff wages.

“This is about taking work from British operators and drivers and giving it to Europeans who don’t pay tax here and pay peanuts to their drivers.”

Shapps said issues with supply chains were a problem internationally but they were being dealt with “resiliently” in the UK and “we shouldn’t report ourselves into a crisis”.

“We know that the globe has woken up following coronavirus with huge supply chain issues everywhere around the entire world,” he said.

“But in this country we have taken 24, now 25, different steps on the domestic side of that – the lorry drivers side of things – and we’re seeing it have a big impact.

“We’ve got now three times as many people applying to become lorry drivers every single day than before the crisis. We have to be careful, we mustn’t try and report ourselves into a crisis.”

Business

Customs exceeds 2024 target, rakes in N71.6bn

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, says it surpassed its revenue target for 2024, raking in a total of N71.6 billion.

The Customs Area Controller, CAC, Effiong Harrison, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying that its target for 2024 was N56.861 billion.

Harrison expressed delight over the record-breaking revenue achieved by the command.

The Customs Area Controller described the 2024 revenue as unprecedented, noting that it was the highest-ever generated in the history of the command.

“A detailed breakdown of the revenue underscores the remarkable achievement of the command in revenue generation.

“During a meeting with his management team, the area controller revealed that the command had exceeded its annual revenue target of N56,861,094,269.07 by generating N71,633,687,108.84.

“This represents a 20 per cent increase, amounting to N14,772,592,839.27,” he said.

According to him, July 2024, in particular, was a standout month, with the command recording its highest-ever monthly revenue of N12 billion.

Harrison, while comparing the command’s performance in 2023 and 2024, noted a significant revenue increase of N41.1 billion in 2024 when compared to the N30.5 billion generated in 2023, reflecting a 135 per cent growth.

He expressed profound gratitude to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, and his management team for their unwavering support to the command.

Harrison extended appreciation to critical stakeholders and other government agencies, acknowledging them as invaluable partners in the command’s success in 2024.

He expressed optimism that the command would achieve even greater milestones in fulfilling its core mandates in 2025.

Business

FCT-IRS announces deadline for tax returns

The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) has urged private companies, government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other employers of labour in the territory to file their employee annual tax returns for 2024.

The acting Executive Chairman, Mr Michael Ango, who made the call in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said that the employers have up to Jan. 31 to comply.

In the statement, signed by the service’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Mustapha Sumaila, the FCT-IRS boss said that the returns should be filed using the prescribed forms provided by the service.

This, he said, was in compliance with Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) 2011 (as amended) and the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Regulations.

He explained that the PITA Act mandates all employers of labour in the FCT to file annual returns of all emoluments paid to their employees and the total taxes of the preceding year, not later than Jan. 31 of every year.

Ango had during the 2025 stakeholder’s engagement, emphasised that filing of employee annual returns by all employees was mandatory as provided by law.

He added that failure to file the returns would attract penalties and other sanctions, which the FCT-IRS would not hesitate to impose on any defaulters.

According to him, the best form of compliance is voluntary, which the FCT-IRS expects from all taxpayers in the FCT.

“I, therefore, enjoined all private organisations, MDAs, government owned enterprises, including sole proprietorships who are employers of labour in the FCT to comply with their tax obligations to avoid sanctions.

“More importantly, the support will contribute to the development of the FCT and the efforts of the Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, to transform the territory into a modern city,” he said.