41 import items banned by Central bank of Nigeria for Forex Exchange

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41 import items banned by Central bank of Nigeria for Forex Exchange

In today’s article, I am going to explain with simplicity what it means for import item not valid for forex and the list of import items banned by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). I will take my time to give instance on different scenarios of how the majority of importers fall into this.

First of all, I want to make it clear that the 41 import items or goods are not banned or prohibited by Nigeria customs service and the Federal Government of Nigeria. It means that the importer will be not given assistance for sourcing for the Forex in the commercial bank because of the CBN policies. Let me explain in details. Let us say importer A want to import any of the items from the items before he or she will proceed with issuing Form M. The total amount for shipping and cost of purchase must be in the corporate account. And the next process is to write the CBN through the commercial bank and CBN will give approval letter that the importer can go ahead with importation.

The bottom line is that the Forex (that is the foreign currencies) must be in the domiciliary accounts before the Central Bank of Nigeria can issue approval letter as well as approval of Form M issuance with Nigeria customs service. The mistake many importers make is that they place orders first from foreign merchants without having the knowledge of whether the items they want to import are banned by CBN. The implication of this is that any item that is not valid for forex will be approved by Customs with approval letter from CBN.

Now, let me give you the full list of the items that are not valid for forex in Nigeria since 2016.

List of 41 items banned by Central Bank of Nigeria for importation

1. Rice

2. Cement

3. Margarine

4. Palm kernel/Palm oil products/vegetable oils

5. Meat and processed meat products

6. Vegetables and processed vegetable products

7. Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey

8. Private airplanes/jets

9. Indian incense

10. Tinned fish in sauce(Geisha)/sardines

11. Cold rolled steel sheets

12. Galvanized steel sheets

13.Roofing sheets

14. Wheelbarrows

15. Head pans

16. Metal boxes and containers

17. Enamelware

18. Steel drums

19. Steel pipes

20. Wire rods(deformed and not deformed)

21. Iron rods and reinforcing bard

22. Wire mesh

23. Steel nails

24. Security and razor wine

25. Wood particle boards and panels

26. Wood Fibre Boards and Panels

27. Plywood boards and panels

28. Wooden doors

29. Furniture

30. Toothpicks

31. Glass and Glassware

32. Kitchen utensils

33. Tableware

34. Tiles-vitrified and ceramic

35. Textiles

36. Woven fabrics

37. Clothes

38. Plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers

39. Soap and cosmetics

40. Tomatoes/Tomatoes pastes

41. Euro bond/Foreign currency Bond/share purchases

To import these goods, you need the expertise of a freight forwarders. Don't worry about how to source for foreign currencies. Distinctcushy Freight assist on proffering lasting solutions on this.

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Follow Michael Adewale:

International Freight Forwarder, Shipping Consultant and Customs Clearing Agent

He is Chief Executive Officer at Distinctcushy Global Freight Forwarding Company Limited, an International Freight forwarding company and Customs Clearing Broker in Lagos, Nigeria. He loves integrity and value honesty with importers and Exporters in Nigeria and abroad.

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