Worries As CBN Raises Customs Duty Exchange Rate To N1, 356.883/$
• Re- jigs Cash Reserve Requirement Framework
NIGERIANS are in for more economic hardship induced by inflation as the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has increased the Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS) exchange rate for clearance of imported goods to N1,356.883 per 1$.
Information obtained by The Guardian from the Customs official website yesterday morning indicated that the exchange rate was adjusted from N951.941/$ in December 2023 to N1,356.883/$ February 2024.
This adjustment is the fourth after the Service started the implementation of the floating foreign exchange rate regime by the CBN in July 2023 and since the coming into power of the new government.
The CBN had on June 24, 2023, adjusted the exchange rate from N422.30/$ 1 to N589/$ 1 and subsequently to N770.88/$ 1 on July 6, 2023.
The apex bank further adjusted the rate on November 14, 2023 to N783.174/$ 1; on December 7, 2023, to N951.941/$ 1; and c urrently to N1,356.883/$ 1.
Importers and the business community have decried the implications of the new adjustment on the prices of imported goods.
This is aside from the extortion manufacturers and importers face in the evacuation of their cargoes from the ports to their warehouses and companies as well as the increasing multiple taxes from government agencies. Recall that the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, had earlier this year told importers and the business community that the NCS does not independently fix its exchange rate for imported goods clearance, but only updates its system based on what is on the apex bank's official window.
He had explained that the customs service was not responsibleforthearbitraryincreaseor decrease of the exchange rate, but rather complies with the exchange rate on the official CBN window for clearing of imported goods.
A licensed Customs agent, Tony Anakebe, decried the high FX rates of naira against the dollar and the exchange rate for clearing imports, noting that it has resulted in a decline in the volume of imports.
A frontline Customs Broker, Michael Ovien, confirmed that the CBN effected the increased exchange rate on the trader portal for single window trade yesterday, noting that the latest increment would increase the cost of importation, while the cost of goods and services in the market would increase astronomically leading to high inflation rate.