GUIDELINES

Any person intending to import physical goods into Nigeria shall in the first instance process e-Form “M” through any Authorized dealer bank irrespective of the value and whether or not payment is involved.
The initial validity period of an approved e-Form “M” for general merchandise shall be 180 days, which may be extended for 180 more days by the Authorized Dealer Bank. For capital goods, the initial validity of an approved e-Form “M” shall be 365 days subject to a maximum extension of another 365 days. However, any subsequent request for subsequent revalidation of e-Form “M” shall be forwarded to the Director Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, for consideration.
Supporting documents shall be clearly marked “Valid For Forex/ Not Valid for Forex” as appropriate i.e. depending on whether or not foreign exchange remittance is involved.
All applications for goods subject to Destination Inspection shall carry the ” BA” code, while those exempted shall include “CB” in the prefix of the numbering system of the e-Form “M”. Payments for goods exempted from Destination Inspection under the Scheme shall not be carried out in the Foreign Exchange Market without a prior approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The list of goods exempted from Destination Inspection shall be as approved by the Honourable Minister of Finance and the approval shall be a pre-condition for the completion of e-Form “M” exempted from Destination Inspection.
The e-Form “M” and the relevant Proforma invoice (which shall have a validity period of three months) shall carry a proper description of the goods to be imported to facilitate price verification.The description shall carry:
1. Generic product name, i.e. product type, category
2. Mark or brand name of the product where applicable
3. Model name and or model or reference number. where applicable
4. Description of the quality, grade, specification, capacity, size, performance etc.
5. Quantity and packaging and/ or packing
e-Form “M” shall be valid for importation only after registration by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). Consequently, Authorized Dealer Banks are to confirm registration of the e-Form “M” before proceeding with other import processes.
Documents in respect of each import transaction shall carry the name of the product, country of origin, specifications, date of manufacture, batch or lot number, Standards to which the goods have been produced (e.g. NIS, British Standards, PD. ISO, IES, DIN, etc).
All goods to be imported into the country shall be labeled in ENGLISH in addition to any other language of transaction, otherwise the goods shall be confiscated.
In places where import items such as food, drinks, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices, chemicals, etc. are regulated for health or environmental reasons, they shall carry EXPIRY dates or the shelf life (minimum of half shelf life at the time of importation) and specify the active ingredients, where applicable.
Electrical appliances (fluorescent lamps, electric bulbs, electric irons and ties, etc.) shall carry information on life performance while cables shall carry information on the ratings.
All electronic equipment and instruments shall carry:
1. Instruction Manual
2. Safety information and/or safety signs
3. A guarantee/warranty of at least six months
Any false or fraudulent misrepresentation of facts will result in delays and/or impoundment/ seizures.
Importation of products not properly labeled shall automatically qualify for seizure and destruction without warning, and subject to prosecution.
All imports into the country shall be accompanied by the following documents:
1. Combined Certificate of Value and Origin (CCVO) which shall contain the following information:
  - e-Form “M” no.
  - Adequate description of goods
  - Port of destination (The actual port shall be specified e.g. Tin Can, Apapa, Kano, Onne, etc.)
  - Shipment identification, date of shipment, Country of Origin, Country of supply
2. Final/ Commercial Invoice
3. Packing list
4. Shipped/ Clean on Board Bill of Lading/Airway bill/Way bill/Road Way bill
5. Manufacturer’s Certificate of production, the Phytosanitary Certificate or Chemical Analysis Report, which shall state standards, where applicable, should be made available.
6. Laboratory test certificates for chemicals, foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances and other regulated products, where applicable.
The following procedure shall be adopted for payments for:
1. Letters of credit transactions: where the transactions involve issuance of Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) and/ or supplier’s credit, all negotiating documents and or shipping documents (as may be applicable), must be routed from the Beneficiary/Supplier through his/her bank to the correspondence bank of the issuing bank and thereafter to the issuing bank. For the avoidance of doubt, on no account must banks endorse or pay on documents which do not comply with the routing outlined above.
2. For Bills for Collection transactions and Unconfirmed Letters of Credit, documents must come to the issuing bank either directly from the supplier’s bank or through the offshore correspondent of the issuing bank.
3. For “Not Valid” for foreign exchange transactions (which do not require foreign exchange transfer), the supplier should forward the documents directly to the applicant bank that validates the e-Form “M”.
For transactions with Post Landing charges a retention fee of 5 – 15% of the project cost as agreed between the importer and the overseas supplier shall be indicated on both the Contract Agreement and the Proforma invoice which shall form part of the supporting documents for the registration of relevant e-Form “M”. In addition:
1. The stated fee shall not be remitted until a satisfactory evaluation of the project has been undertaken by the Industrial Inspectorate Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry.
2. The Authorized Dealer Bank shall forward to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Ministry of Industry (Industrial Inspectorate Department) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, Trade and Exchange Department copies of the Contract Agreement and Proforma invoice of such projects for monitoring purposes.
3. The Nigeria Customs Service shall take cognizance of the value of shipment and Post Landing charges as would have been indicated on the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).
4. The Industrial Inspectorate Department, Federal Ministry of Industry shall thereafter carry out an evaluation of the project and advise the Central Bank of Nigeria accordingly.
5. On receipt of the report of the evaluation from the Federal Ministry of Industry (Industrial Inspectorate Department), the Central Bank of Nigeria shall advise the NCS on the issuance of the PAAR in respect of the retained value and the Authorized Dealer Bank advised to remit the same to the beneficiary.
Buying Commission: The percentage of buying commission to be paid to agents or confirming house acting as intermediary between importers and exporters is a maximum of 2% of the FOB value of the consignment, where applicable.