Five months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) floated the naira, the federal government has adjusted the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) import tariff denomination rate from 770.88 naira/1 US dollar to 783.174 naira/1 US dollar. Customs said the new exchange rate will guide importers and customs clearance agents to quote and obtain payment for new imports.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has empowered commercial banks to freely sell foreign exchange at market-determined exchange rates, in line with President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure a single exchange rate system.
However, economic difficulties caused by some of the new government’s economic policies and the federal government’s trade and fiscal policy measures regarding customs duties, import duties, excise duties and taxes, resulted in a 70% decline in Nigeria’s imports. The cost of clearing goods in Nigeria is already higher than in other African countries, and is the most expensive among West and Central African hubs.
This means an increase in abandoned and demurred cargo, reducing the port’s storage space, he said at a recent meeting with port stakeholders. According to him, some cargo has been stuck at the port for more than 10 years due to bottlenecks in customs clearance. Goods shipped to Nigeria are shipped to ports in Ghana, Togo, Cameroon and other neighboring countries because the cost of clearing goods at these ports is lower.
Nigeria has established a committee to handle demurrage cargo to expedite the decongestion of ports overcrowded by demurrage cargo.