Foreign Exchange Rate For Cargo Clearance At Customs Increases By 11% In 2 Days

The foreign exchange rate used by Customs for cargo clearance increases by 11% in just two days.

The most recent update on the customs exchange rate window shows that the exchange rate used by the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, to collect import charges has increased by 11.0 percent, from N1150 per dollar to N1277.52.

This indicates that from April 23 and April 25, 2024, there was an increase of N127.36.

The currency rate listed on the Form M application date would be used to calculate duty collection, as previously announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Customs regularly modifies the currency rate in close coordination with the CBN in order to match the official market rate on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign currency Market, or NAFEM, window.

Prior to this, the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, had announced that the currency rate listed on the date of the Form M application would be used to calculate the amount of duty collected.

Customs regularly modifies the currency rate in close coordination with the CBN in order to match the official market rate on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign currency Market, or NAFEM, window.

Following a Naira devaluation, the exchange rate for collecting customs import charges has consistently increased. It peaked earlier in March at N1612.28 per dollar before settling at slightly over 1,100 as a result of the Naira's rebound.

However, the exchange rate has been steadily rising as a result of the recent depreciation of the Naira.

A slight depreciation of the Naira was the reason for the exchange rate's increase to N1,150 by April 21 from N1,147.

Data from the CBN shows that on Thursday, April 25, the Naira closed at N1329.4 in the official window versus the US dollar. Two days earlier, the Naira had fallen 17% to hit a one-month low of N1,300 per dollar on the official window.

Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the CBN, has been praising the effects of his reforms on the foreign exchange market in recent days. He has cited a Goldman Sachs report that stated that the naira was the world's best-performing currency over the previous month.

He went on to say that the apex bank has switched from “firefighting” to “strategic planning” in several important areas.

The CBN's recent changes, which include clamping down on Binance and selling foreign exchange to Bureau de Change operators below the official market rate, are put to the test by the recent devaluation of the value of the naira.