The federal government has deepened its anti-import policy and has issued new import guidelines that will mostly tighten importation and clearance of cargoes at the ports and borders in the country.
The new guideline requires that all documents bear the product name, country of origin, specifications, date of manufacture and batch number, standards of production (e.g. Network Information Services (NIS), British Standards PD. International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), International Energy Standards (IES), and Documentation Identification Number (DIN).
All goods, according to the new import regime, must be labelled in English, in addition to any other language of transaction, otherwise they will be confiscated by Customs.
In a memo dated December 3, the minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, that the guidelines took effect from December 1.
According to the letter, all imports shall be accompanied by such documents as Combined Certificate of Value and Origin (CCVO), which contains the e-Form 'M' No, adequate description of goods, port of destination, shipment identification, date of shipment, country of Origin and country of Supply, Packing List.
Shipped/Clean on Board Bill of Lading/Airway Bill/Railway Bill/Road Waybill.
Manufacturer's Certificate of production, the Phytosanitary Certificate or Chemical Analysis Report, which must state the standards.
Laboratory test certificates for chemicals, foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, and other regulated products are also required from importers.
The letter, signed by the director, Home Finance, K Zaji, said any intending importer should in the first instance, process e-Form 'M' through any authorised dealer bank irrespective of the value and whether or not payment is involved.
The first validity period of the e-Form 'M' for general merchandise, Zaji said, would be six months, which he said, may be extended for another six months by the dealer.
The government, according to the memo, has granted an initial validity period of 365 days to capital goods with approved e-Form 'M', and the maximum extension of another 365 days is allowed.
But any subsequent request for revalidation and consideration of e-Form 'M' after the maximum 365 days extension period can only be granted by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Supporting documents shall be clearly marked "Valid for Forex" or "Not Valid for Forex" as appropriate i.e. whether or not foreign exchange remittance would be involved.