The Central Bank of Nigeria has pegged the duty rates to be paid by importers to the Nigerian Customs Services during goods clearance.

This was as the bank instructed the Customs to utilise the FX closing rate on the date of the ‘Form M’ submission by importers for the clearance of goods and import duty assessment.

The CBN stated this in a circular signed by its Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Hassan Mahmud, and posted on its website on Friday.

Form M is a mandatory statutory document used as a declaration of intention by importers for the importation of physical goods into Nigeria.

This measure aims to tackle the volatility and frequent updates on the customs website concerning the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market.

Recently, the Nigeria Customs Service through the CBN has been regularly reviewing and adjusting the exchange rate for import duties and clearance of goods on its website to reflect the prevailing market rate following the unification of the forex market in June.

Since the beginning of this year, the service has adjusted the forex rate almost twice weekly.

The last adjustment of the exchange rate by Customs saw the rate move upwards from N1537.07 to N1605.82 per USD.


In response to the complaints from members of the public and the business community, the Comptroller-General of the NCS stated during an interview that the service does not fix the exchange rate rather they follow the directive of the CBN on such matters.

The circular read, “To this effect, the Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to advise the Nigeria Customs Service and other related parties to adopt the FX rate on the date of opening the Form M for importation of goods, as the FX rate to be used for import duty assessment. This rate remains valid until the date of termination of the importation and clearance of goods by the importers.

“This would enable the Nigeria Customs Service and the importers to effectively plan appropriately and reduce uncertainties around varying exchange rates in determining revenue, or cost structure respectively.

“Therefore, effective 26th February 2024, the closing rate on the date of opening of Form M for importation of goods and services would be the rate that would apply for assessment of goods and services. This supersedes the requirement of Memorandum 9, J (2) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Foreign Exchange Manual (Revised Edition) 2018.

“While the CBN is mindful of the initial volatility and price distortions in the aftermath of the FX market liberalization, the Bank is confident that these reforms, would in the medium term, ensure stability in the market and entrench market confidence necessary to attract investment capital for the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria in June 2023 unified the foreign exchange market in a move geared towards floating the market. Since then, the naira has lost over 100 per cent of its value on the official window.


The weakness of the naira coupled with other fiscal policy initiatives like the removal of fuel subsidy pushed inflation to a 28-year high as of January at 29.90 per cent.

The inflation is mainly driven by food and transport with the former’s inflation rate at 35.4 per cent in January.

treesun:
Nlfmod, Tinubu and APC are bereaved of ideas on how to solve Nigeria problems!

psucc:
Why regulate a deregulated market. They supposed allow the naira find it's level with dollar by March, 2024, we would have to be talking about N3000/$

gaby:
They came up with a policy to allow the dollar to float and fly like a BAT and now pegging it in one corner.

What is the meaning of confusion again?

Nigerians don't even understand what is going on yet, and what is to come.

By June and upwards, everybody go understand.

The 10k rice no go dey again by then.

Creamypie:
Them don see peter obi suggestion. Drunkards

TimeManager:

Where do you see pegging?. I love this thread, it is exposing people with low capacity.

-kiss the truth!

TimeManager:

Where do you see pegging?. I love this thread, it is exposing people with low capacity.

-kiss the truth!

Sheuns:
Why is the custom’s charging import duty in USD? If it is charged in Naira there wouldn’t be a need to adjust and readjust exchange rates.

Peg import duties in Naira and let importers seek Naira to pay. Not changing exchange rate all the time.

Other countries I know of charge import duties in their local currencies and not pegging exchange rate at USD.

treesun:
Nlfpmod, Tinubu and APC are bereaved of ideas on how to solve Nigeria problems!

TimeManager:

Obi suggestion from where?. This forum needs age restriction, unintelligent people are demarketing this forum.

-kiss the truth!

gaby:



Oh, hold on..I need to grab my glasses to check the title of the thread.

Ekpa.

The likes of you are the retards pretending to be monetary policy makers.

Una dey dance around in circles with no direction.

Turnionion..

Crimecity:


Kiss the truth this time.

TimeManager:

Ok, you're one of those dullards that do often react to headlines without reading the body of the article. Your type are many here.

-kiss the truth!

gaby:


Empty skull.

Nothing is left on the right side of your hollowed cranium.

Dullards hired for propaganda they can't correctly propagate.

Asswipes.

TimeManager:
Fair consideration from CBN, it reduces the panics of the importers.

-kiss the truth!

TimeManager:

I knew one dullard would quote the statement of the chief dullard. From the article above, can you show me anywhere the CBN stated that custom duty would no longer be increased?. You think the CBN gives a rat ass about the opinion of a chief importer, one of those killing the naira.

-kiss the truth!

a4cube:
Cardozo is favouring the Igbos.

TimeManager:

That's not what the article says, your opinion is the imagination of your low grade mind.

-kiss the truth!

psucc:
Why regulate a deregulated market. They supposed allow the naira find it's level with dollar by March, 2024, we would have to be talking about N3000/$

Crimecity:


I thought they're the ones killing the economy with plenty plenty importation of fake Gucci, fake drugs, fake weavon?
What changed?

Finger the truth

TimeManager:

You have so much destroyed the the economy through importation of junks that you forgot those bringing in machineries and raw materials for infrastructure are also called importers. Those we called the industrialists, not the other ones littered on the side of the streets.

-kiss the truth!