For the second time in three days, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the exchange rate for computing Customs duties at the nation’s seaports.
Information obtained from the official trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Service shows that the exchange rate was reviewed upward on Monday, February 12 from 1,417.635/$ to N1, 444.56/$.
Today’s upward review represents a 1.9 percent increase in the Customs duty rate and it is the fourth time the apex bank is adjusting the rate this year.
By implication, this will see importers and manufacturers that depend on the nation’s seaport for the importation of critical production inputs pay more to clear their goods as import duties are benchmarked against the dollar.
It also represents an increase of N26.925 and a percentage increase of 1.9 percent, below the official CBN exchange rate of N1,481.982/$ as of the morning of Monday, February 12, 2024.
Reacting to the development, Tony Anakebe, a Licensed Customs agent, told BusinessDay that the rate at which the apex bank adjusts the exchange rate is becoming very rapid.
According to him, frequent adjustments in the exchange rates for calculating Customs duties are becoming unhealthy for businesses, and that explains why the port business has slowed in recent times.
“Importers and manufacturers are finding it extremely difficult to make plans because of the rate of uncertainty in the business climate and volatility in the forex market,” he said.
