New rate for custom duty emerges after CBN gives rule to IMTOs

• According to the Nigeria Customs Service, the foreign exchange rates for import fees and levies went up to N1,511.35 per dollar
• The CBN announced the modifications on June 28, which was three days after permitting for IMTOs to trade on the official window
• Customs typically apply the FX rates recommended by the CBN and established by trading activity in the official market

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The foreign exchange rates for import duties and levies, as reported by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), increased to N1,511.35, causing slight variations in the single window trading site.

Custom's FX rate was increased to N1,513.23 per dollar on June 28. Photo Credit: Jackyenjoyphotography
Source: Getty Images

The changes in the foreign exchange rate for customs were first noticed on June 28, which was three days after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave international money transfer operators (IMTOs) permission to trade on the official window.

These observations were made on Wednesday on the federal government's single window trading site.

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The agency's FX rate was increased to N1,513.23 per dollar on June 28 after a period of stability that started on June 15 and ended on June 27 at N1,474.09 per dollar, according to data from customs portal.

On June 29, the NCS FX rate went back to N1,470.191 per dollar and stayed there until July 1. The agency changed the rate to N1,508.68 per dollar on July 2 and then to N1,511.35 on July 3, so the seeming stability was just temporary.

Customs usually uses the FX rates that the CBN recommends for import tariffs, which are determined by trading activity in the official FX market.

BusinessDay reported that Customs and other relevant parties were instructed by the CBN on February 23 to use the official FX window's closing rate for import duties.

On June 25, Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), declared that the central bank is "relatively pleased" with its strides toward currency stabilisation.

Meanwhile, the official window saw local currency trading at N1509.45 on July 2.

Legit.ng had reported that the CBN recently announced fresh initiatives to increase naira liquidity and diaspora remittances.

Based on the CBN's recent circular, Eligible International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) will now have access to naira liquidity through the bank's window.

According to the CBN, the initiative aims to increase access to local currency liquidity and facilitate faster and more effective remittance settlement procedures.

Customs set to establish stable FX rates

Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that it has begun working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish stable import exchange rates.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, June 18, 2024, to mark his one year in office.

Adeniyi spoke about the following reported distortions in business planning caused by constant changes in exchange rates in the past few months.

Source: Legit.ng