If you are interested in checking custom duty in Nigeria, this article provides you with all the information you need on customs duty which includes verifying customs duty papers and how to calculate your customs duty paper in Nigeria.
Read on below:
What is Customs Duty?
Customs duty is a fee required by the government of a country that is paid for when importing or exporting goods into that particular country. In Nigeria, the federal government taxes custom duties on almost all imported items into the country. Evading customs duty is an offense that attracts penalties according to the law.
Import charges
The import charges vary from 5% to 60%, with a 1% on goods imported. The standard custom duty charge is 7% port charge and 5% on Value Added Tax (VAT), making it a total of 12%. This information is crucial for importers and exporters who are thinking about checking customs clearance on goods such as vehicles imported into the country. Read on to get as much information as you need.
Why you should check for Customs duty
Before 2018, the process of checking information on any customs-related subject used to be hectic. This made many people lost ways to check for important information such as confirming customs duty. For example, many people experience harassment from road customs officials because the custom charge on an imported vehicle has not been paid for or paid in full. This is why it is very important to check the authenticity of custom duty on imported goods and products. The first step after receiving a customs duty paper on particular goods is to check if it is genuine.
How to Check Custom duty papers
Unfortunately, you cannot check custom duty papers online. Although many people have been waiting for the introduction of an online system where one can check for Custom duty online without stress, it still has not materialized to this day. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to verify your custom duty papers. The Nigeria Customs Service has provided ways for you to check your Customs duty papers. Here is how:
The Nigeria Customs Service has provided an active helpdesk that allows you to verify your custom papers using your phone. We are not sure if this help desk service is available for 24 hours but you should try reaching them during work hours. To check your customs duty papers, you can use the numbers 094621597, 094621598, 094621599 (the last digits can be changed). These lines work for both calls and text messages.
Documents needed to check for Customs duty
In order to get the information you need as regards Customs duty, you will need to provide the following important documents:
- C-number (customs reference number)
- Year of payment
- The command of Nigeria Customs where the duty was paid
- Name of co-signees
- Clearing the agency’s details
- Office of entry, etc.
Once you provide this information, you should be able to verify your Customs duty documents promptly.
C-Number: The C-Number is an important number used to record and store every detail of an imported product. This number is unique to an imported good so it is impossible to have a duplicate c-number for products.
You will find the C-Number at the top right corner of the Single Goods Declaration form. It is this number that is entered into the database of the Nigeria Customs Service. The C- Number is used to clear and import duty payments. It is also needed to validate your Customs Papers as this is what will be used to call up the details of your vehicle in the Nigeria Customs database which is called (Automated System for Customs Data).
Importance of C Number
The C-Number is a critical piece of information when it comes to Customs papers. The C-Number is found on the top right corner of Single Goods Declaration (SGD) forms. The number comes in this format (C-144..) and is used to obtain the entire details of your product such as a vehicle into the Customs database during the clearing process and import duty payment. Information that can be obtained using the C-Number includes the name of the consignee, clearing agency’s details, office of entry (PTML/TINCAN/….), etc.
Oftentimes, importers prefer to carry out their independent research to verify their goods have been properly cleared. This is important as there have been many cases of fraud where clearing agents do what is called an “Outside Valuation or Machined Outside” where they ignore the import duty value that has been quoted by the Customs Value Officer and instead, patronizes port syndicates.
Custom Duty Calculation in Nigeria
Definition of terms used to calculate customs duty in Nigeria:
FOB (Freight on Board) – This refers to all costs incurred to bring the goods or items of import to the terminal for shipment. It is calculated as Total Ancillary charges + Total value of goods.
Freight – This is the cost of transporting the items either by Road, Sea freight, or Airfreight.
CIF – CIF is the cost of imported items, insurance value and freight charge
You calculate your CIF by adding the cost of imported items, insurance value (that is 0.5% of Cost & Freight) and cost of transportation.
Value Added Tax (VAT): This is a tax imposed on the supply of goods and services. Under Nigerian law, the tax is currently charged at 7.5% of the value of the taxable goods and services.
Surface Duty (ID): This is commonly referred to as import duty (ID). It is a duty based on the kind of item imported. The value depends on the HS Code – usually 5%, 10%, 20%, etc. of the CIF Value.
Surcharge: This is an additional tax meant for port development and levied on the importation of goods. The Surcharge is calculated at 7% x Import Duty (ID).
CISS is an acronym for ‘Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme’ which is calculated as 1% of FOB value.
ETLS is an acronym for ‘ECOWAS Tax Liberalization Scheme’. It is a levy imposed by ECOWAS on goods imported from non-ECOWAS member countries into ECOWAS member countries. It is calculated as 0.5% x CIF.
The total calculation of Customs duty is ID + Surcharge + CISS + ETLS + VAT = Customs Duty. The total amount spent will be CIF + Customs duty
Customs duty Payment in Nigeria
All importation into the country is done by opening a form M. Customs duty payment can only be processed at the bank where the form M was opened except in cases where the bank that approved the form M is not a Duty Collecting Bank.
Nigeria Customs Contact Information
Headquarters
Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters is located at Abidjan Street, Wuse, Zone 3, Abuja, Nigeria
Tel: 09 5234694
Fax: 09 5234694
E-Mails
info@customs.gov.ng
pro@customs.gov.ng
Website
www.customs.gov.ng