Following the stability of the naira-dollar exchange rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced the exchange rate for computing customs duties at the country's seaports by 5.3 percent.

On Monday, March 4, 2024, the Customs FX duty rate was redk ined from the Nigeria Customs Service's official trade portal.

This represents a 5.3 percent decrease when compared to the previous rate of N1630.159/$ used as of Friday, March 2, 2024, as well as an N86.078 decrease per dollar required to clear goods at the port.

Tony Anakebe, an industry analyst, responded by stating that the CBN must stabilize the FX rate for Customs duty evaluation in order to reduce the economic impact of paying a high tariff on businesses.

According to him, there is a decline in traffic at the ports because importers no longer see the business environment as favorable due to high import duties and fluctuating FX rates for duty calculation.

According to reports, the apex bank issued a new directive to Customs last week to calculate import duties based on the rate on the date Form M was submitted.

With the reduction, importers who opened Form M for import trade as at Monday, March 4, 2024, will receive some relief in terms of the money used to pay import duties when compared to importers who opened Form M last week.