Effective April 30, 2013 all importers who have not collected their Risk Assessment Reports (RARs) issued by the scanning service providers on or before December 31, 2012 are expected to do so from their bank and pay all necessary duties, tax and penalties, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

The apex bank observed that some RARs issued by scanning service providers had remained uncollected by importers from their processing banks.

The implication of this, the CBN said is that the government is being denied revenue as import duties may not have been paid by such importers.

Read also: Risk assessment / risk management and systemic audit failure (1)

In a circular signed by Batari Musa, director, trade and exchange department, the CBN warned that failure to collect outstanding RARs and pay the duty, taxes and other connected charges associated with the underlying import transactions, will result in the imposition of appropriate sanctions which include suspension from the foreign exchange market by the CBN until all outstanding RARs are accounted for.

However, where duties, taxes and penalties have been paid, owners of the uncollected RAR should provide evidence of utilisation of RAR which should include SGD registration number and date as well as the amount paid, CBN has said.

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Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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