Owners of chartered fishing and other shipping vessels in the country are now required to fulfill new documentation conditions before they apply for foreign exchange.
According to authoritative financial sources ship owners are now required to submit relevant charter party agreement and a letter from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Maritime division, recommending on the reasonableness of the lease of charter.
Sources disclosed that without these two conditions being meant in addition to those specified in the manual of eligible transactions and documentation requirements, remittance of fees will no longer be permitted in the foreign exchange market, FEM.
Banking sources further disclosed that these documentation requirements also apply to applications for remittance of charter fees in respect of shipping vessels which are eligible for consideration in the foreign exchange market, FEM.
According to banking experts, it is the federal ministry of finance, that has the sole authority to approve application for the outright purchase of fishing vessels as well as aircraft and shipping vessels.
Banks The Republic learnt are only granted approving power for fees remittance on chartered fishing and other vessels. This banks said, came in the wake of the decentralisation of approvals of foreign exchange
