Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has adjusted the foreign exchange rate for its tariffs and duties.

The new rates were reflected on the single window trade portal of the federal government.

According to information on the portal, the NCS exchange rate has gone up by 42.5 percent or N404.94 to N1,356.88/$, as of Friday — from the preceding rate of N951.94/$.

The adjustment followed the depreciation of the naira at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) — on which customs rate is benchmarked.

At the NAFEM, also known as the official foreign exchange market, the naira closed at N1,461.90/$1 as of Thursday, depreciating from Wednesday’s N1,455.59/$1.

Also, in the parallel market, the naira traded against the dollar at N1,400, compared to the N1,530 rate reported the previous day.

Among other tariffs, the NCS collects customs duties in Nigeria, levied on imports.

Rates vary for different items, typically from 5 percent to 35 percent, and are assessed with reference to the prevailing harmonised commodity and coding system (HS code).

Reacting to the increase, Jonathan Nicole, president of the Shippers Association of Lagos (SAL), said the new exchange rate for cargo clearance would increase inflation.

“There have been a lot of sad stories as regards doing business in our domain – the maritime sector,” he said.

“The new exchange rate will increase inflation and businesses will be grossly affected, terminating projections before imports. The rate will affect the manufacturing sector and goods and services will increase. The cost of transportation will skyrocket.

“At the end of a transaction, the general public will be made to pay for the failure of our economic policies. Unemployment will increase and some companies are shutting down already due to paucity of funds.”

Nicole said the success of a country is determined by the management of the commonwealth for all.

He added that where the “citizens are impoverished, the nation becomes epileptic and this is what is happening at the moment”.

Nicole told the government to ensure fair distribution of the nation’s resources for all and sundry and also advised shippers to brace up for tougher policies noting that the current exchange rate would not be the last.

The Cable