Customs hold off on agents’ licensing rates hike

The Nigeria Customs Service has held off on its plan to raise licensing rates for agents while it completes consultations, BusinessDay can confirm.

At a National Executive Council meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, Emenike Nwokeoji, president of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) said that the Service had “allowed [agents] to continue to renew at the old rate.”

“We have been able to reach a common ground…The status quo remains,” he said.

Abdulahi Maiwada, the national public relations office of the Service confirmed to BusinessDay that “consultations are ongoing” before a final decision is made.

The development is temporary relief for agents, traders, freight forwarders and bonded terminals who were facing increases of up to 20-fold on current rates, changes that were announced last year and slated to take effect in January 2026.

Customs internal memo presented to concerned stakeholders in August 2025 showed Customs agents and freight forwarders applying for new licences would pay N10 million, up from the current N515,000, while renewal fees would rise from N215,000 to N4 million.

Importers and exporters would also be required to obtain bank bonds of up to N20 million, compared to the current N350,000.

Bonded warehouse operators face some of the steepest increases: licence fees would jump from N60,000 to N20 million, with renewals rising from N60,000 to N10 million. Terminals would be required to post bank bonds of N500 million, a 900 percent increase from the current N50 million.

Ship chandlers currently paying N515,000 for licences would pay N2 million under the new structure, with renewals set at N1 million and bank bond requirements rising from N350,000 to N2 million.

The last time fees were reviewed was in 2002, when the federal government increased the licensing fee for new customs clearing agents from N20,000 to N500,000, and fixed annual renewal rates at N200,000, from N10,000.

Customs said the new review was intended to “reflect prevailing economic realities, including the value of exchange rates, and address operational demands,” much to displeasure of industry players

Before you leave, read: Agents’ licensing fee jumps 20-fold in new Customs review