NCS Didn’t Raise Import Duty, But Only Aligned With CBN’s Official Exchange Rate – Customs Boss

Nigeria Customs didn’t raise import duty, but only aligned with CBN FX rates – Comptroller General clarifies.

Federal Government last December increased import duties (third time in six months) by as much as 22.24 per cent.

The development reportedly drove the cost of clearing a 40-foot container from N7.3 million to N8.9 million.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has clarified that the agency doesn’t willfully raise duties paid on imports but only aligned with the new foreign exchange (FX) rate prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Recall that the federal government last December increased import duties by as much as 22.24 per cent, a development that reportedly drove the cost of clearing a 40-foot container from N7.3 million to N8.9 million.

Speaking on Arise News Channel on Tuesday, the Customs boss explained that the decision was part of the “repercussions” of the CBN’s effort at enforcing a single FX window.

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“The new administration has not made any pretension towards the fact that it was going to take a number of very bold decisions and reforms aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy and reforms that will bring sustainable change over a long period of time.

“So one of the reforms that have been undertaken is the merger of the forex markets, the various segments of the forex markets, which have been merged in the very few days of the new administration.

“And so this has repercussions or effects on our operation. So what it means is that we cannot use rates independently that are not tallied or that are not specified through this merged window. So what we do is just to update our system.

“So it is not about Customs increasing the rates. We have nothing to do with whether the rates go up or whether the rates go down. We follow what is prescribed for us by the regulatory authority for monetary affairs, which is the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he maintained.

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