The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) raised the foreign exchange (FX) rate for import charges to N1,474.69 per dollar on Friday. The modified rate represented a N278 increase, or 23.2 percent, above the N1,196.61/$ rate set on Thursday, May 30.
The new rate was reportedly reflected on the Federal Government’s single window trading site on Friday. Customs uses the FX rates recommended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for import duties based on trading activity in the official FX market. However, the Customs rate is somewhat lower than the official FX rate of N1,484/$ recorded at the end of trading on May 30.
Meanwhile, the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax changes requested Wednesday that the federal government use an exchange rate of N800 per dollar for customs import duty. During the presentation of the committee’s recommendations, the Chairman, Taiwo Oyedele, voiced concern about the import duty rate, which fluctuates due to the volatility of the FX market.
Customs
Oyedele stated that because the government used N800/$ to prepare the budget, using the same exchange rate for import duty collection would result in no loss of revenue. He also stated that implementing the suggested import tariff FX rate would help the economy reduce the cost of importation, which would help with inflation.
Source: vanguardngr.com
