FG Summons 80 Private Jet Owners Over Import Duty Operating Papers

The Nigerian Customs Service, on behalf of the Federal Government, has initiated a new effort to crack down on individuals who have improperly imported private jets into the country.

Findings by The PUNCH have revealed that no fewer than 80 operators of private jets are expected to appear at the headquarters of the NCS in Abuja with their aircraft import documents.

The special aircraft import verification exercise, scheduled to start tomorrow, is expected to last for 30 days, as announced by Customs in a public notice.

The notice read in part, “The Nigeria Customs Service announces a verification exercise for privately owned aircraft operating in Nigeria. This exercise aims to identify improperly imported private aircraft without documentation, ensuring proper imports and maximum revenue collection.”

Private jet owners and operators in the country must present specific relevant documents as stated in the notice.

These documents include the aircraft Certificate of Registration, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s Flight Operation Compliance Certificate, the NCAA’s Maintenance Compliance Certificate, the NCAA’s Permit for Non-Commercial Flights, and the Temporary Import Permit (if applicable).

The latest plan to crack down on operators of improperly imported private jets came more than a year after the Federal Government suspended the action.

In the last three years, the government planned to recover billions of naira in import duties from private jet operators who had exploited certain technical loopholes to evade payment.