NCS Issues 21-Day Ultimatum to Temporary Admission Permit Defaulters Over N379.6 Billion Worth of Unregularised Imports

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to importers who have defaulted on the terms of their Temporary Admission Permits (TAP), urging them to rectify their status or face strict enforcement actions.
The grace period, effective from Monday, 28th July 2025, is aimed at ensuring full compliance with the provisions of the TAP framework and safeguarding national revenue.
The Temporary Admission Permit scheme is a concessionary arrangement that permits the temporary importation of goods without the payment of full customs duties, provided the goods are either re-exported or duly converted to home use within a specified timeframe.
This arrangement is governed by international protocols such as the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and codified under Sections 142 to 144 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
However, recent audits by the Service have uncovered widespread violations. A total of 223 companies have failed to meet the stipulated conditions of the TAP regime. According to the NCS, these defaults translate to an enormous bond value of N379,576,045,802.27 (Three hundred and seventy-nine billion, five hundred and seventy-six million, forty-five thousand, eight hundred and two naira, twenty-seven kobo).
Many of the importers neither re-exported the imported goods nor paid the required duties to convert them for local use, thus breaching the terms of the temporary admission.
“The grace period is a final opportunity for defaulting importers to take corrective measures by either applying for a valid extension, re-exporting the goods under Customs supervision, or converting them to home use with full duty payment,” the NCS stated in the press release signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD.
Temporary Admission Permits are typically valid for 12 months, with the possibility of a one-year extension. Under exceptional circumstances, an additional six-month extension and a final six-month grace period may be granted.
Importers are also required to secure bank bonds to guarantee duty payments in the event of non-compliance.
Section 143 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 empowers the Service to enforce recovery by discharging the bond value directly into the Federal Government’s account when importers default.
The NCS warned that failure to take corrective steps within the 21-day window would result in stringent enforcement measures. These may include bond invocation, imposition of penalties, and prosecution through legal channels.
Under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Service reaffirmed its commitment to regulatory enforcement, revenue protection, and maintaining the credibility of the Temporary Importation framework.
Stakeholders and the trading community were strongly advised to make use of the limited grace period to regularise their importation records and avoid punitive sanctions.