Enter a valid form M number on 13 digits (e.g.: 'MF'+year+7-digit serial) or a BA number (e.g.: 'BA'+3-digit bank code+9-digit bank number). Note that only form M opened after 01.01.2006 can be consulted.
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Any person intending to
import physical goods into
Nigeria shall in the first
instance process Form "M" through
any Authorized dealer bank
irrespective of the value and
whether or not payment is involved;
The Form "M" shall
have a validity period of six
months for all imports except
Plants and Machinery which
shall have a validity period
of one year. Requests for subsequent
revalidation thereafter should
be directed to the Director
of Trade and Exchange Department
at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
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 would be 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 Form "M".
Payments for goods exempted
from Destination Inspection
under the Scheme, would 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 Form M exempted from Destination Inspection.
The Form ‘M’ and the relevant pro-forma 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 viz;
Generic
product name, i.e. product
type, category
Mark
or brand name of the
product where applicable
Model
name and or model or
reference number. where applicable
Description
of the quality, grade,
specification, capacity,
size, performance etc.
Quantity
and packaging and/or
packing
Form ‘M’ shall be valid for importation only after acceptance by the relevant Scanning /Risk Management Provider. Consequently, Authorized Dealers are to confirm acceptance of the 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.
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 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:
Instruction
Manual;
Safety
information and/or safety
signs;
A guarantee/warranty
of at least six months.
All computer hardware, software,
operating and embedded system
shall continue to be Year 2000
compliant
Any wrong or fraudulent
misrepresentation of facts
will result in delays and/or
impoundment/seizures.
Importation of Blank products and/or without valid Form ‘M’ 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:
Combined
Certificate of Value
and Origin (CCVO), and contain the following
details in addition to
those on the pro-forma
invoice:
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
Packing list
Shipped/ Clean on Board Bill of Lading/Airway bill/Way bill/Road Way bill
Manufacturer’s Certificate of production which shall state standards and where it is not applicable, the Phytosanitary Certificate or Chemical Analysis Report should be made available.
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:
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.
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.
For Not Valid for foreign exchange transactions (which do not require foreign exchange transfer), the supplier should forward the documents directly to the bank that opened the Form “M”. In addition, applicable returns on non-submission of shipping documents after 90 days in respect of such transactions must henceforth be rendered.
In the case of personal effects, the relevant documents should be forwarded to the appropriate Service Provider.
However, where dutiable goods are found to be in excess of the approved passenger concession, they shall be liable to the clearance procedure applicable to commercial goods and accordingly all import documentation requirements must be complied with, failing which they shall be liable to seizure.
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 Pro-forma invoice which shall form part of the supporting documents for the registration of relevant Form M. In addition,
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
The Scanning Company shall forward to the Federal Ministry of Industry (Industrial Inspectorate Department) and the Central Bank of Nigeria , Trade and Exchange Department copies of the Contract Agreement and Pro-forma invoice of such projects for monitoring purposes.
During Destination Inspection, the Nigeria Customs Service shall take cognizance of the value of shipment and Post Landing charges as would have been indicated on the Risk Assessment Report (RAR)
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
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 respective scanning company on the issuance of the RAR in respect of the retained value and the Authorized Dealer advised to remit same to the beneficiary.
