In the space of 16 days, the cost of clearing imports increased by 23% from ₦1,150.16/$ recorded on April 23, 2024, to ₦1,412.6/$ as of May 8, 2024.
Nigerian manufacturers and importers have seen their import clearance fees increase by 23% as the country battles forex fluctuations.
Importers began witnessing an increased cost of clearing imports due to the implementation of the 2023 Customs Act. The Act granted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the power to set the rate used for calculating import duty according to the prevailing exchange.
The new policy further impacted on the cost of clearing imported goods as the exchange rates in the foreign exchange market fluctuated.
In a space of 16 days, the cost of clearing imports increased by 23% from ₦1,150.16/$ recorded on April 23, 2024, to ₦1,412.6/$ as of May 8, 2024.
When compared to the exchange rate figures as of January 2024 which stood at ₦951.941/$, this increase marked a 48% jump.
The CBN, in a bid to stem the outcry which followed the numerous fluctuations, had earlier this year, advised the Nigeria Customs Service to adopt the closing foreign exchange rate in the official window for import duty calculations.
This circular was effective from February 26, 2024, and supersedes the previous requirements outlined in an earlier directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Before the directive, the CBN had on February 21, 2024, raised the Customs duty rate for clearing imported items by 4.5% from ₦1,537.073/$ to ₦1,605.82/$, and is recorded as the highest rate the nation’s port industry has witnessed since the FX reforms in June 2023.
The Naira’s comeback in April 2024 has been linked to the CBN’s reforms which strengthened the Naira against the dollar following the increased greenback supply. This provided immediate relief to importers facing high clearing costs at the ports.
Speaking on the issue, the former president of the Shippers Association of Lagos State, Jonathan Nicole in an interview with Business Day decried the constant fluctuations of the import duty rates adding that importers and manufacturers were facing serious challenges in their investments.
“Our economic policies have failed, and the resultant effect of these inconsistencies in rates is for importers to abandon their goods in the ports or relocate to countries where there is import policy stability,” Nicole added.
