Good News for Importers As CBN Reduces Customs Exchange Rate To Clear Goods
- The Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to adjust the exchange rate for calculating customs duty
- The Nigeria Customs Service had on Sunday, June 9, announced the new rates, indicating slight relief to businesses and importers
- Experts as well as Peter Obi earlier advocated for a stable rate to bring down inflation rate in the country
The Nigeria Customs Service has revealed a new exchange rate for calculating import duties at the nation's seaports and airports.
Source: Getty Images
Data obtained from the federal government trading portal showed that as of Sunday, June 9, 2024, importers will be charged N1,447.965 per dollar for import duty.
The new rate represents a 2.51% reduction from the previous rate of N1,485.322 per dollar on Friday, June 7.
How customs exchange rate is calculated
In an earlier report, Adewale Adeniyi, the NCS comptroller general, explained that the fluctuations in import duty rates over the past few months are not the result of the service's actions.
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He noted that the NCS does not fix rates and that the changes align with the CBN's floating foreign exchange rate regime.
"What we do is just to update our systems. It is not about Customs reducing or increasing the exchange rate. We have nothing to do with whether the exchange rate goes up or come down.
“It is not us, we follow what is proscribed for us by the regulatory authority for monetary affairs, which is the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Peter Obi on new customs exchange rate
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Peter Obi reacted to customs duty rate changes and expressed concerns that they are affecting many businesses.
He further suggested to the government the perfect exchange rate to peg the duty rate in the spirit of ease of doing business.
Mudu Yusuf seeks stable customs exchange rate
Similarly, Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the frequent customs exchange rate changes has become a huge burden on the business community.
Yusuf noted that the situation has caused cargo clearing costs to be very unstable, making inflation worse and increasing investment risk, especially in the real economy.
He suggested that customs set a quarterly exchange rate between N800/$ and N1000/$ for import duties assessment.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
