The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again crushed importers’ hopes by hiking the currency rate for paying import tax by 14%, just 24 hours after reducing the foreign exchange rate for calculating import duty at the country’s seaports.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) official trade webpage provided information that the apex bank increased the Customs FX duty rate on Monday, April 29 from N1,164.84/$ to N1,327.35/$.
In comparison to the previous rate of N1,164.84/$ for the opening Form M, this indicates a 14% rise in rate. It also reflects an increase of N162.51 on a dollar required to clear goods at the port.
Read Also: Analysis: Customs FX Rate For Cargo Clearance Drops Below Official, Parallel Market Prices
This means that importers opening Form M today will require more money to pay import duties than those who opened Form M at the weekend.
THE MATRIX reports that last week, the naira had its worst run since the devaluation in January, falling 7.8 percent to N1,339.23 on Friday from N1,234.49 at the beginning of the week, according to data by FMDQ Securities Exchange.
The naira appreciated to N1,280/$ Saturday, an 8.57 percent gain compared to N1,400/$ Friday, according to multiple traders who spoke with BusinessDay.
In his reaction, Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, told BusinessDay that Nigeria needs to deemphasise revenue generation because too much emphasis on revenue causes growth, job creation, and development to suffer.
Read Also: Again, Customs Adjusts Forex in Four Days
He said fiscal authorities need to stabilise rates to give policy support to critical sectors of the economy and also give breathing space to investors without burdening them with too much taxation.
Eugene Nweke, a freight forwarder, called for a fixed exchange rate regime for cargo clearing at the port to give relief to businesses, support trading activities, and stabilise the market value of products.
According to him, the port’s high import and clearing cost is exacerbating Nigeria’s inflation rate.
