Import Duty: Nigerian Customs to study judgement before issuing response

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it is yet to obtain the full text of a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which exempted personal items from import duty charges.

According to the NCS in an X post on Thursday, the service will respond to the judgment in the coming days, after a thorough review of its content.

“The service is yet to obtain the full judgement to enable her study and take the next line of action. In coming days, the service will respond accordingly after a careful study of the content of the judgement,” the NCS stated.

The NCS was responding to an inquiry by the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, seeking to confirm NCS’s knowledge of the recent judgement and if it intends to implement the ruling.

Background

On Thursday, the Appeal Court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja in the case of Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a legal practitioner and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Mr Ojukwu had sued the NCS for unlawfully detaining him at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, upon his arrival from the United Kingdom on February 20, 2022.

His items, four iPhone 13 Pro phones, were seized.

He was also compelled to pay N404,417 import duty charges on the four iPhones.

Undeterred, Mr Ojukwu instituted legal action at the Federal High Court against the Nigerian Customs Service Board, the Nigerian Customs Service, and First Bank Plc.

He sought damages of N160 million and prayed Justice Ahmed Mohammed to declare the customs service’s actions unlawful and a flagrant breach of his fundamental rights.

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In the suit filed on his behalf by his legal representative, Segun Fiki, Mr Ojukwu based his argument on the provisions of section 8 of the Customs, Excise Tariff, etc. (Consolidation) Act and paragraph 7 of the Second Schedule to the Act.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed held that citizens who have not been outside Nigeria for at least nine months were not required by law to pay import duties on their personal effects not meant for sale, exchange, or barter.

Justice Mohammed also ordered the Nigeria Customs Service Board and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to pay the plaintiff the sum N5 million as damages.

The ruling by the Appeal Court sets a significant precedent for how customs officials handle personal items and the scope of import duties under Nigerian law.