Guidelines for Exporters Nigeria
Preshipment
Inspection
Programme
performed
by or on behalf of
SWEDE
CONTROL/INTERTEK SERVICES
on
behalf of
THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
12th
January 2001
INTRODUCTION
In
September 1999, the Federal Republic of Nigeria re- introduced the pre-
shipment programme for inspection of imports.
Swede
Control/ Intertek (SCI) is one of four Pre-shipment inspection companies
chosen to participate in the program. The territories apportioned to SCI are
shown in Appendix A.
These
guidelines summarise the changes and their impact upon Exporters.
Should
you have any queries, please kindly contact your nearest SCI office where
trained SCI personnel will be happy to assist.
You
will find our offices addresses, telephones and fax numbers, throughout the
world, in Appendix C.
All
Forms ‘M’ raised on or after September 1st 1999 are subject to
pre- shipment inspection.
GLOSSARY
OF ABBREVIATIONS COMMONLY USED
PSI
-
Pre- shipment Inspection
LO
-
Liaison Office
(SCI’s
main office in Nigeria)
IO
-
Issuing Office
(SCI’s
office in the Exporter’s country, which will organise PSI for your goods and
issue a certificate for their clearance through Customs by the Importer as
well as issue a Certified Invoice to the Exporter for negotiation of a Letter
of Credit.)
RFI
-
Request for information
A notification sent to the Exporter by SCI in
respect of each individual Form ‘M’ and proforma.
(Each file will have a unique reference
number allocated, known as the RFI number. This number should be quoted in all
correspondence with SCI).
CRI
-
Clean Report of Inspection
The document issued by SCI which provides the
SCI assessment of value and coding. The CRI is required by the Importer to
obtain Customs Clearance.
DRI
-
Discrepancy Report of Inspection
The document issued by SCI when goods fail to
pass PSI, either because discrepancies are not corrected by the Exporter or
because the Exporter fails to provide SCI with a clean set of final documents.
This document prohibits clearance of
goods in Nigeria.
L/C
-
Letter of Credit
HOW
IS PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION ORGANISED ?
Upon
receipt of the Form M and supporting documents (including the letter of
credit, if applicable) from the Importer, the Authorised Dealer Bank will
process and deliver it to the SCI office in Lagos, who will analyse them and
load them into the system. For your information, the Form M is available from
regional SCI offices overseas as well as Nigerian Embassies, Authorised Dealer
Banks etc…
Should
there be no reason to reject the documentation,
SCI will transmit the information electronically to the Issuing Office (IO)
responsible for arranging inspections in the country of supply. Hard copies of
the electronic information will also be distributed to the relevant IO.
After
receiving the information, the IO will fax the exporter with a Request for
Information (RFI) notification. This will request information required to
perform the inspection.
The
Exporter must respond promptly to our RFI letter,
not forgetting that 3 full working days of advance warning are necessary in
relation to the required date for inspection.
Simultaneously, at the Issuing Office, SCI experts will perform
preliminary analysis of the prices and customs tariff codes.
After
arrangements have been made, the SCI inspector will perform the physical
inspection at the requested site and mutually arranged time.
We
recommend that the Exporter’s final invoice be sent to the IO on the same
day that the exporter responds to the RFI.
WHAT
HAPPENS IF I SHIP MY GOODS WITHOUT INSPECTION?
Where
a Customs declaration is made without a valid Clean Report of Inspection (CRI),
the Importer’s goods will be required to undergo destination inspection
which will be carried out by SCI, under the supervision of Nigerian Customs
Officers. Shipments subject to destination inspection may also suffer a delay
in clearance and a fine amounting to 50% of the assessed value of the
consignment.
ARE
THERE ANY GOODS THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM PSI?
Yes.
Please refer to the list shown in appendix B, where you will also find the
list of prohibitions.
AS
THE EXPORTER WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?
1.
Upon receipt of the Form M, proforma invoice and Letter of Credit from
the Importer, and after having processed the information in these documents,
the SCI Liaison Office (LO) in
Lagos will transfer the data to the SCI
Issuing Office (IO) which will
handle your file. The IO will contact you in writing, usually by fax.
The letter is referred to as the RFI
(Request For Information) and will ask you for the information we require in
order to carry out our physical inspection of your goods and to perform
customs classification and price verification.
The RFI letter will detail pertinent references including a unique RFI
locator number, for example SCI 123456.
2.
Please quote the unique RFI number in all communications with SCI so
the file record can be immediately located and the swiftest possible action be
taken.
3.
If any company other than the Exporter named on the Form M is to
request inspection or act in any way on your behalf, their authority to do so
must be confirmed by you as the named Exporter.
WHAT
DO I HAVE TO PAY?
The
fee is paid by the Federal Republic of the Government of Nigeria. However,
where a discrepancy is detected on the first inspection and an additional
inspection visit is required, SCI reserve the right to charge the Exporter for
the second inspection.
HOW
DO I ARRANGE THE INSPECTION?
As
soon as you have received the RFI letter from SCI (and if your goods are
ready) you should submit a written request for inspection to SCI.
We ask for a
minimum advance notice of 3 full working days for the requested
inspection date, although we will always try to accommodate you when an urgent
inspection is required. Your written inspection request should detail the
following:
•
The relevant SCI reference number
•
Desired date and location of the inspection,
•
The name of the person to be contacted at the inspection site with
their telephone and fax numbers.
•
Full details of the goods to be inspected
At
the time of making your inspection request, if possible please provide a copy
of your final invoice.
SHOULD
I PACK MY GOODS FOR EXPORT PRIOR TO INSPECTION?
Goods
should be presented along with the export packaging which will be used.
Where packaging must be opened to perform physical inspection,
repackaging will be observed at the time of inspection.
Where
goods are to be exported by full container load, SCI are required to witness
loading and seal the container with an SCI seal.
For this to be done, Exporters will be required to present goods for
physical inspection at a time and place such that, upon the same visit, the
SCI Inspector may properly inspect the goods, witness container stuffing and
perform sealing.
WHAT
IS CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION?
All
goods can be classified under a customs tariff code which determines the rate
of duty payable for the goods upon importation. SCI is required to determine
the correct tariff code in accordance with the requirements of the Nigerian
tariff book and all other relevant regulations published by the Ministry of
Finance in Nigeria. SCI will determine the correct tariff code by review of
documentation taken in consultation with the results from the physical
inspection of the goods. The Nigerian
Customs tariff is based on the Harmonised System (HS).
WHAT
IS CUSTOMS VALUATION/ PRICE VERIFICATION?
1.
The customs valuation/ price verification undertaken by SCI seeks to
determine whether the price being charged by the seller, as declared to us in
the final invoice, corresponds within reasonable limits with export prices
generally prevailing in the country of supply.
2.
Where freight charges are not presented to the IO by the exporter, SCI
will assess values for these for customs valuation purposes only.
3.
The reference date for customs valuation/ price verification will be
the date of the order or proforma invoice.
4.
Where our customs valuation indicates that your prices are
significantly below the reasonable limit for the export prices prevailing in
the country of supply, you will be contacted and given an opportunity to
comment. Our assessment of the
fair market value will only be amended if you can provide us with information
which will cause us to change our opinion. In the case of overpricing, you may
be asked to reduce your final invoice in line with the fair market value.
4.
Price data and all related information supplied to SCI is held in the
strictest confidence.
AS
AN EXPORTER, WHAT TYPE OF CERTIFICATE WILL I RECEIVE FROM SCI?
The
Exporter will receive a certified invoice with a hologram label or sticker
affixed to it. This will be returned to the Exporter by the normal postal
service, unless a specific request is received for it to be sent by courier
service. If the Exporter does request for it to be sent by courier the cost
will be for the Exporters account.
WHAT
TYPE OF CERTIFICATE WILL SCI ISSUE TO THE IMPORTER?
SCI
will issue the Importer (via the dealer bank) with a Clean Report of
Inspection (CRI). The CRI will include SCI’s assessment of the customs value
and tariff classification.
The
CRI will be issued to the Importer, provided the following conditions have
been met:
1.
An
accepted Inspection Report has been issued by SCI to confirm that the quality
and quantity of the goods meet the specification submitted to SCI;
2.
The Exporter has submitted correct final documentation to SCI;
TO
ISSUE THE CRI/ CERTIFIED INVOICE, WHAT DOCUMENTS DO YOU NEED FROM ME?
1
We need a clean final invoice as early as possible in the PSI process
for CRI issuance, as it
will enable early customs clearance of the Importer’s cargo. The clean final
invoice must detail the following information:
.
Invoice number and date of issuance;
.
Names of the Importer and Exporter, as per the proforma and Form M;
.
Detailed quantity and description of goods;
.
All unit prices and extensions;
.
Separate itemised charges, if applicable, up to FOB;
.
The FOB (Free on Board) value of the transaction;
.
Freight (if applicable);
.
Insurance (if applicable);
2
A copy of the signed, clean- on- board transport document (bill of
lading/ airway bill) and a copy of the letter of credit. This is relevant to
issuance of the certified invoice.
3.
Final invoices which show a price adjustment arising from fluctuating
exchange rates cannot be accepted
unless expressly allowed for under the terms and conditions of the
proforma invoice.
-
The
CRI number must be shown on the Bill of Lading, Airway Bill or the like and
written against each item in the cargo manifest. It can be generated very
simply by taking the SCI number and adding the three digit suffix relevant to
the partial shipment, i.e. 001 (partial 1), 002 (partial 2) etc…
-
The
Exporter must provide the final invoice within 72 hours of inspection,
otherwise SCI valuation will be based on the documents already available.
WHAT
HAPPENS IF I FAIL TO PRESENT A SET OF CLEAN FINAL DOCUMENTS?
Presentation
of clean final documents should be made to SCI as soon as they are available.
Failure to do so may result in the issuance of a Discrepancy Report of
Inspection (DRI) and a delay in the clearance of the Importer’s goods from
Customs.
In
order to avoid problems, it is advisable that good final invoices be presented
to ITS at the time that you submit your request for inspection.
A
FINAL NOTE
1.
If the information in these guidelines does not provide an answer to
questions that arise in relation to a specific order, please contact your
nearest SCI Issuing Office where trained SCI personnel will be happy to assist.
2.
SCI is a founder member of the International Federation of Inspection
Agencies (IFIA) and the Nigerian PSI programme is carried out in conformity with
the IFIA code of practice.
3.
SCI also carries out its work in accordance with the WTO agreement on
Pre- shipment Inspection.
4.
Despite every effort being made by SCI to facilitate the progress of all
orders which require an inspection, an exporter may occasionally experience a
problem. SCI has an Internal Appeals Procedure as required by Article 2.21 of
the Agreement on pre- shipment inspection of the Uruguay round of WTO/ GATT.
Exporters wishing to make use of these procedures should request details from
their nearest Foreign Trade Standards office.
5.
Exporters
/ Importers wishing to communicate with ITS by electronic mail should take note
of the following important message.
Email is subject to the possibility of
delays and of transmission failure. Systems
designed to inform senders of transmission failure are themselves subject
to the possibility of delay and may fail altogether. It follows that you should
not assume that email transmission have been received in good order unless you
are advised by ITS that this is the case.
ITS will systematically confirm
receipt of email by email. The confirmation sent by ITS is to confirm receipt
only. It should not be taken as acceptance of the content of the document. It is
recommended that you call where such confirmation is not received within 24
hours.
APPENDIX A
Swede
Control/Intertek is responsible for the inspection of all goods supplied
from the following countries:
United
States of America and The
Caribbean including Nordic Nations
Denmark (including Greenland)
Dominican
Republic
Finland
Grenada
Iceland
Haiti
Norway
Jamaica
Sweden
Trinidad
South
America
Europe
Argentina Austria
Bolivia Bulgaria
Brazil Czech Republic
Chile Hungary
Cuba
Macedonia
Ecuador
Poland
Guyana
Romania
Paraguay Slovakia
Peru Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro)
Surinam
Uruguay
Venezuela
APPENDIX
B
GOODS
EXEMPTED FROM PSI
The
following goods are the only ones
exempt from pre-shipment inspection:
a)
Explosives & pyrotechnic products
b)
Arms, ammunitions, weapons & implements of war
c)
Used motor vehicles
d)
Personal effects
e)
Perishables (i.e. day old chicks, vaccines, human eyes, human remains,
periodicals or magazines, yeast)
f)
Supplies to diplomatic consulate missions and international organisations
for their own needs
GOODS
PROHIBITED FROM IMPORTATION
1.
Sorghum (HS Code 1007.0000)
2.
Millet (HS Code. 1008.2000).
3.
Wheat flour (HS Code. 1101.0000).
4.
Mosquito Repellent coils (HS Code 3808.1110).
5.
Retreaded/ used tyres (HS Code 4012.1000-4012.9000).
6.
Gaming machines (HS Code 9504.1000-9504.3000).
7.
Second-hand Clothing (HS Code 6309.0000)
8.
Cement not in bulk form (HS Code 2523.2910). Cement can only be imported
in bulk form and cannot be brought into the country in quantities less than
10,000 metric tonnes or the full capacity of the carrying vessel. It shall in
addition, be discharged into silos at the quayside or into a ship permanently
moored to the Coastline or into trucks for onward delivery to the hinterland for
packaging into 50kg bags using machinery and facilities already installed at
those locations.
9.
Bulk importation of vegetable oil is no longer allowed for health
reasons. All imports shall be branded and in cans.
Please note that the list of
Prohibited items for Nigeria is subject to frequent changes. SCI have provided
this list as a reference for exporters to Nigeria. The list of Prohibited items,
as set by the Government, will always take precedence over the information
contained in these Guidelines.
Appendix C
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