At Lagos’ ports, the news hit like a thunderclap: the Nigeria Customs Service slammed agents with a twentyfold licensing fee hike.
An internal memo spelled it out.
Customs will now charge ₦10 million for a new clearing agent or freight forwarder licence, up from ₦515,000.
Renewal fees will jump from ₦215,000 to ₦4 million.
Meanwhile, it will demand bank bonds of ₦20 million from importers and exporters—up from ₦350,000.
Warehouses, Terminals, Chandlers
The blows keep coming.
Customs will raise bonded warehouse licence fees from ₦60,000 to ₦20 million and hike renewals to ₦10 million.
It will also force terminals to secure ₦500 million in bank bonds, ten times more than before.
Even ship chandlers must brace for quadrupled licence costs.
Customs frames the changes as the first fee review since 2002, claiming they reflect “economic realities” and “operational demands” under the 2023 Customs Act.
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Yet industry players say Customs ignored them during the process.
Costs Ripple To Consumers
Importers warn the spike will cascade through the supply chain.
“Agents will pass the cost on,” said former Manufacturers Association chairman, Frank Onyebu.
“From agents to importers, to manufacturers, then to consumers.”
The move follows quickly on the heels of another change: last week, the government replaced a one percent import levy with a four per cent Free on Board charge.
Critics argue the Service is chasing revenue without considering the economy’s limits.
Customs promises premium perks for compliant agents—priority processing, better engagement, and digital integration—but many remain unconvinced.
“It’s a shame,” said clearing agent Sulaiman Ayokunle.
“When the economy suffers, we feel it before Customs does.
We pay them duties every single day.”
Now, the ports simmer with tension.
Everyone knows the hard truth: in trade, every extra cost eventually lands in the consumer’s pocket.
