- Nigeria Customs Peg Exchange Rate At N326
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has increased the exchange rate of its import payment by N20, pegging the new rate at N326 per dollar.
The change was reported to have taken effect on Monday 10th of June 2019 as all departments have updated all operations and systems to the new rate.
The newly updated rate was also confirmed by the PR officer of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) in the person of Mr. Emmanuel Onyeme. However, he’s of the opinion that the immediate effect of the new exchange rate would have an adverse effect on the importers which will in turn increase cost of clearing cargo and hence the increase in the price of goods in the market. Also, it’s a loss to agents who have accepted jobs and close deals based on the old exchange rate.
“The new rate took place at the ports today. It is already affecting our transaction with Customs because if the former exchange rate was N306 and they increased it by N20, with this, some extra money would be added to it,” he said.
“And if the importer is selling his car for N1 million, with the additional cost, he is going to add whatever the extra cost is to it. The Customs have already changed the rate on their system and every job that was captured on Monday had to pay the new rate,” he added.
Earlier this year, the Customs urged the Federal Government to cut down on waivers and exemptions in order to boost revenue generated. The NCS intends to exploit every opportunity and adopt new measures that could empower the management and at long-run increase revenue.
The new exchange rate could be tagged as a new measure put in place to achieve the said goal to increase in revenue.