Investor Presentaiton
The Country and its
institutions
Business Organisation Labour and Social
and Regulation
Security Regulations
The Nigerian Financial
Services Industry
Tax System
Foreign Exchange
Transactions
Investment in Nigeria
Accounting and
Auditing Requirements
Importation of Goods
Exportation of Goods
COVID-19 Economic
and Fiscal Measures
9.1
Import Prohibition List
9.3
Payment Procedures
9.2
The Import Prohibition List maintained by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as an
agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance is updated from time to time and should
be consulted by importers before they ship any cargo to Nigeria.
Destination Inspection (DI)
In January 2006, the NCS commenced the implementation of DI to replace the
defunct pre-shipment inspection scheme after previous failed attempts due to
incessant port congestion.
The decision to abolish the pre-shipment inspection scheme was driven by the
reported loss of revenue due to inaccurate import duty assessment on goods
by the pre-shipment inspection agents and their inability to prevent shipment of
contrabands and expired goods into the country.
Under the DI scheme, goods are inspected on arrival in Nigeria, as the destination/
importing country, as opposed to the erstwhile pre-shipment inspection scheme
where goods were inspected in the country of procurement or origin before
shipment to Nigeria.
The following destination inspection agents (DIAs) were contracted by the Federal
Government for DI (their designated zones are stated below):
(i) Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited: Apapa and Tin-Can seaports, Kano
and Abuja airports, Jibiya and Banki posts;
(ii) Societe Generale Du Surveillance: Onne and Port Harcourt seaports, Port
Harcourt airport and Idiroko Border post; and
(iii) Globalscan Systems Limited: Warri and Calabar seaports, Ikeja airport and
Seme Border post.
Following the expiration of their (extended) contracts in December 2013, the DIAS
have handed over the operation of the scheme to the NCS.
9.4
The importer pays for imports through the banks. Payment for imports can be
made through documentary letter of credit or bills for collection.
Current Guidelines for Imports into Nigeria
The provisions of the current guidelines on imports and payment of import duties
are summarised as follows:
(a) Importers are required to process e-Form 'M65' (application for importation of
physical goods) through any authorised dealer bank irrespective of the value
and whether payment is involved;
(b) Depending on whether foreign exchange remittance would be involved,
supporting documents should be marked 'VALID FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE or
NOT VALID FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE', as the case may be.
(c) The initial validity periods 66 of the e-Form 'M' for general goods and plant
& machinery are 6 months and 1 year, respectively. These periods may
be extended for another 6 months or 1 year, respectively. However, any
subsequent request for revalidation of the e-Form "M" shall be forwarded to
the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), for consideration;
(d) The prefix of the numbering system of the e-Form 'M' will be coded depending
on whether the goods are subject to DI. Goods subject to DI shall carry the
"BA" code, while goods exempted by the Minister of Finance shall bear the
"CB" code in the prefix of the numbering system of the e-Form 'M';
(e) To facilitate price verification, the following pieces of information are to be
included on the e-Form 'M' and pro-forma invoice (which should have a validity
period of 3 months):
• the generic product name i.e., product type and category;
77 Investment in Nigeria Guide 8th Edition
•
mark or brand name of the product where applicable;
•
model name and or model or reference number, where applicable;
description of the quality, grade, specification, capacity, size, performance
etc.; and
• quantity and packaging and or packing.
65 The CBN, via its circular of 18 November 2020, introduced additional documentation requirements for authorized dealers to open Form M
for letters of credit, Bills for collection and any other forms of payment in favor of procurement companies.
66 According to the Revised Foreign Exchange Manual released by the CBN in 2018, the validity period of an approved e-Form M for general
merchandise and capital goods shall be 360 and 720 days, respectively, and can be extended for another 180 and 360 days, respectively.
KPMGView entire presentation