The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), will ground over 60 private jets owned by prominent Nigerians today, October 14, 2024, due to unpaid import duties amounting to billions of naira.
According to documents exchanged between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the enforcement exercise will commence today. Top bank chairmen, business moguls, and other high-net-worth individuals are affected.
The NCS had carried out a one-month verification exercise on all private jet owners in the country between June and July. “Very few of them (private jet operators) have shown up for verification, and we gather intelligence that a good number of them are leaving Nigeria since the announcement was given because they would not want to be verified,” said Comptroller General, NCS, Adewale Adeniyi.
The service introduced the private jet verification exercise because many private jets operate outside the law. “We have seen so many of these aircraft flying, and our record tends to show that only a few of them have shown up to pay duty, and this is why we are bringing this verification up,” Adeniyi explained.
Data obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) revealed that many private jets operate in the country, but only a few have paid customs duties. “We discovered that there are more private jets operating in Nigeria but have not been brought under the ambit of the law. So, the data that we got from the NCAA shows that only very few of them paid customs duty to operate in Nigeria,” Adeniyi stated.
International aviation regulations require private jets flying in the country to pay duty. “If they are here for a brief period in the Nigerian airspace and return, they are not obliged to pay any duty; that is if they are here on a temporary importation visit. But once they are here and are used within Nigeria, they are liable to pay duty.”
Some private jet owners paid the mandatory import duty after the Hameed Ali-led NCS took steps to recover revenue. However, several owners and operators of private jets have yet to pay the statutory duty.
Many private aircraft operators have allegedly exploited technical loopholes in the regulation to fraudulently obtain a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) from the NCS instead of paying the statutory import duty on their imported aircraft.
The TIP, valid for an initial 12 months and extendable by six months twice, has been described by stakeholders as a fraudulent means of evading mandatory import duty. Importers of private jets, especially foreign-registered ones, are expected to pay 5% of the jet’s value as import duty.
Documents showed that private jets belonging to top business moguls, including chairmen and top executives of some banks, would be stopped from flying. Already, top private jet owners affected by the decision have been officially notified by the NCS.
Some luxury aircraft on the list include Bombardier Challenger 604 CL-600-2B16, Bombardier Challenger 3500, Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000, Bombardier BD-700 Global 6500, and Bombardier BD-700 Global 7500, estimated to cost over $70 million each.
The NCS could generate over N260 billion from this enforcement exercise. The Nigerian Customs Act of 2023 empowers the customs service to penalize owners or importers of illegally imported goods.
NAMA has acknowledged a letter from the NCS regarding the recovery of import duties on illegally imported private aircraft. The agency issued a Notice to Airmen and directed Air Traffic Control units to ground non-compliant aircraft starting from October 14, 2024, until cleared by the NCS.
Three aircraft slated for grounding have been reportedly flown out of the country but will be grounded upon their return.
