“Pay Your Debt”: Nigeria Customs Grounds Nigerian Bank’s Aircraft over Import Duty
- The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has grounded a private jet belonging to a prominent Nigeria bank
- The move signals the commencement of a clampdown on private jet owners in Nigeria who may have imported them without paying import duties
- It was reported that the owners of the private jet owe about N1.9 billion in import duties
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Nigeria Customs has grounded a US-registered Gulfstream G650ER jet belonging to a prominent Nigerian bank.
The move demonstrates the commencement of clampdowns on private jet owners over unpaid import duties that amount to billions of naira.
Source: Getty Images
Customs begins verification exercise on private jets
The development comes two weeks after the Customs began a one-month verification exercise for private jet owners in Nigeria. The exercise started on June 19, 2024, and would end on July 19, 2024.
The Nigeria Customs Service stated via a public notice that the exercise aims to identify private jet owners who illegally imported their aircraft into Nigeria without paying import duties.
According to reports, Customs recovered about N2 billion in Nigerian treasury when it carried out a similar exercise in 2019.
80 private jet owners were summoned to Abuja
About 80 private jet owners in Nigeria are expected to present their import documents and aircraft certificates of registration to the Customs in Abuja during the exercise.
Punch reports that the grounding of private jets would begin one month after the verification exercise.
Findings show that operators have begun moves to export and commercialize their aircraft, prompting the Customs to start the clampdown.
NCAA cancels scheduled flight
Customs disclosed recently that some private jet owners of foreign-registered jets were temporarily flying their aircraft out of the country to evade the exercise.
The grounded Gulfstream jet belonging to a tier-1 bank reportedly owes about N1.9 billion.
Sources say Customs has written to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to cancel the flight clearance for the aircraft.
CBN slashes Customs FX rates for cargo clearance
Legit.ng previously reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has adjusted Nigeria Customs FX rates for cargo clearance in Nigeria’s ports.
Checks on the Customs trade portal show that the apex bank slashed the price from N1,505 to N1,470,191 to dollar.
This development means that importers will pay less to clear cargo from Nigeria’s ports, effective from the time the change was made.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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