The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has further increased the exchange rate for calculating customs duties at the nation’s seaports by 1.9 per cent.
The customs exchange duty rate was raised from N1, 593.888/$ to N1, 624.732/$ on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, following the further depreciation in the value of the naira, according to information obtained from the official trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Service.
With the apex bank’s upward review, the customs duty rate has increased by 1.9 per cent and it adds over N30 to each dollar needed to clear goods at the port compared to the old exchange rate of N1, 593.888/$.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has boosted the exchange rate for computing customs charges at the country’s seaports by 1.9%.
The customs exchange duty rate was hiked from N1, 593.888/$ to N1, 624.732/$ on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, following continued naira devaluation, according to data from the Nigeria Customs Service’s official trade portal.
With the apex bank’s upward revision, the customs duty rate has increased by 1.9%, adding more than N30 to each dollar required to clear goods at the port compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,593.888/$.
This means that importers who file Form M today will pay more to clear their goods because import tariffs are benchmarked against the dollar.
Also, importers will open Form M at a higher rate than those who opened Form M on Monday, March 11, following the apex bank’s new direction to Customs to calculate import duties based on the rate on the day of submission.
Meanwhile, port users have rejected the notion of utilising the currency rate on Form M to pay import duties, citing concerns that it will complicate the trade process.
Emenike Nwokeoji, national president of the Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents, stated that adopting the Form M rate will result in differences in duty paid on similar imports.
He believes that it would increase uncertainty about the country’s pricing structure for goods and services.
It will also create abnormal increases in the final sale prices of items, which are largely driven by uncertainties, rather than market fundamentals, and will have implications for inflation,” he said.
