CBN raises Customs FX duty rate for cargo clearing by 2.1%

After a few days of sustaining a slash in the Customs exchange duty rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the exchange rate for computing Customs duties at the nation’s seaports by 2.1 percent.

The Customs FX duty rate was reviewed upward from N1,303.8/$ to N1, 330.26/$ on Tuesday, April 2, according to information obtained from the official trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Service.

The reduction in rate represents about 2.1 percent when compared to the old rate of N1,303.8/$ used for opening of Form M as of Friday, March 29, and a decrease of N26.46 on a dollar needed to clear goods from the port.

Consequently, importers opening Form M today Tuesday, April 2 for importation will require more money to pay import duties compared to the importers who opened Form M on Friday, March 29.

This is in line with the apex bank’s new directive that Customs should be using the rate on the date of submitting Form M for calculating import duties.

BusinessDay reports that the naira has been appreciating in both official and parallel markets due to the regular supply of dollars to the Bureau De Change operators.

With the naira strengthening on the black market to N1,225 per dollar on April 2 and closing at N1,309.39/$ at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window on March 28, the Customs FX duty rate was formerly on a downward trend in the past two weeks.

The FX rate for clearing imports had recorded over 19 percent reduction in the last two weeks, which reflected the appreciation in the naira in recent times.

Reacting to this, Tony Anakebe, an industry expert, faulted the apex bank for allowing the exchange rate for clearing goods at the port to fluctuate as it is doing today.

He said the situation has made it difficult for the importer to plan.