Importers welcome N306/$ exchange rate for import duty payment at ports

Importers, who spend more on payment of import duty following increased exchange rate, have accepted the recent reduction of exchange rate for import duty payment.
They are however optimistic that there would be further reduction in the coming month, if the value of naira against dollar in the interbank market appreciates.
The reduction has automatically reduced the import duty payable on cargo by 3.2 percent, which importers and their agents described as ‘far cry’ from their expectation as the reduction would only have meagre impact on the cost of imports into the country.
In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reduced the exchange rate of dollar to naira from N316/$ to N306/$ for the calculation of import duty on all imported commodities that come through the nation’s seaports.
Commenting on this, Uche Ejesieme, public relations officer (PRO) of Tin-Can Island Command of the NCS, said the downward review of the exchange rate for duty payment was informed by the CBN directive that was received by the command on Monday, with the stipulation that a new rate of N306 to dollar exchange rate should be used to calculate import duty.
This, according to him, had led to about 3.2 percent reduction in the import duty payment in the ports.
Kayode Farinto, national publicity secretary, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), who attributed the new reduction to market forces since exchange rate for import duty payment was now subjected to the dictates of dollar rate in the interbank market.
“We are not surprised that the exchange rate for import duty payment recorded about 3.2 percent drop because market forces now determines exchange rate. But we are also expectant that the rate would further come down in the future,” Farinto said.
Tony Anakebe, an industry analyst, who told BusinessDay that the exchange rate could still go high or come down depending on the demand and supply conditions, said if the country was able to improve on its oil supply and the foreign reserve improved, the exchange rate could improve. But if we continue to have problems with oil supply as with the Niger Delta, naira would continue to lose value against dollar, he said.
To Anakebe, Nigerian importers need a stable exchange rate for calculating import duty owing to the fact that the fluctuating rate is counterproductive and it does not allow importers to plan.