February 17, (THEWILL) — The Nigeria Customs Service has moved to clear up confusion over who determines the foreign exchange rates used in valuing imported and exported goods at Nigerian ports, emphasising that it does not set or manipulate the rates itself.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Customs Service stressed that all exchange rates applied in cargo valuation particularly on its digital clearance platform known as B’Odogwu are supplied directly by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which remains the sole authority for setting official foreign exchange rates under Nigeria’s monetary framework.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigeria Customs Service does not independently determine, generate, alter or apply margins to foreign exchange rates used for import and export valuation,” said the agency’s spokesperson.
It added that the rates integrated into the B’Odogwu system are electronically transmitted by the CBN and automatically applied nationwide.
The clarification comes against the backdrop of public commentary and reports suggesting discrepancies in cargo clearance duties, including widely cited figures in the marketplace that did not originate from Customs’ official systems.
Customs said a recently circulated rate of around N1,451 per US dollar for duties did not come from B’Odogwu and was instead drawn from an outdated public portal not used for live customs valuation.
The service also noted ongoing efforts to integrate real-time exchange rate transmission through an API linkage with the CBN to further strengthen system reliability and transparency.
Customs’ intervention is significant for importers, exporters, and logistics stakeholders, as the choice of exchange rate directly affects duty calculation, cargo clearance costs, and pricing decisions across supply chains especially in a period of continued naira currency volatility.
This clarification is intended to reassure the trading community that valuation practices are transparent and consistent with national monetary policy.
