The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), is set to ground over 60 private jets owned by prominent individuals in the country due to unpaid import duties totaling several billions of naira.
The enforcement is scheduled to begin today, October 14th, 2024.
Documents exchanged between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, obtained by The PUNCH, indicate that many private jet owners have failed to pay import duties, leading to this enforcement action aimed at recovering the outstanding sums.
This decision follows a one-month verification exercise conducted by the NCS between June and July of this year, which assessed private jet ownership and duty payments.
Despite the verification, many private jets remain non-compliant, leading to today’s grounding action.
Notably, some of the jets affected by this action belong to prominent business figures, including bank executives.
The NCS has already notified several private jet owners, with more expected to receive letters today.
Most of the jets impacted by the grounding are foreign-registered but owned by Nigerians.
Among the luxury aircraft listed are several Bombardier models, including the Bombardier Challenger 604 and the Bombardier BD-700 Global series, valued at tens of millions of dollars each.
As of Sunday, 11 jet owners had been informed of the impending grounding, with another 55 expected to receive notification by the end of today.
Reports suggest some jet operators attempted to lobby the Presidency to intervene, but the effort was unsuccessful.
As a result, some owners have begun settling their import duties to avoid the clampdown.
For instance, operators of a U.S.-registered Gulfstream G650ER have reportedly paid N5.3bn in import duties to avoid sanctions.
A similar exercise in 2019 resulted in the recovery of duties from various jet owners.
This current action is expected to bring in significant revenue for the government, potentially over N260bn.
While some aircraft owners have already started negotiations with the NCS to settle their debts, others have promised to do so once their aircraft return to Nigeria.
However, officials confirmed that at least three jets have already been flown out of the country to avoid the grounding but will be restricted once they re-enter Nigerian airspace.
The Nigerian Customs Act of 2023 authorizes the NCS to penalize the owners of goods, including private jets, imported without proper duties being paid.
Demand notices have been issued, and the NCS has requested the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to deny flight clearance for non-compliant aircraft.
The NCS’s verification exercise was introduced after it was discovered that many private jets in Nigeria were operating without paying the required customs duties.
In July, NCS Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi confirmed that many jets had left the country ahead of the exercise, seemingly to avoid being verified.
He emphasized that while some aircraft are in Nigeria temporarily, those used domestically must pay duties as per international aviation regulations.
Over the past three years, the government has been working to recover unpaid import duties from private jet operators, some of whom have used technical loopholes, such as obtaining Temporary Import Permits (TIP), to avoid payment.
The TIP allows aircraft to operate in Nigeria temporarily, but many operators have exploited this provision, extending their permits indefinitely.
Customs officials have described the TIP system as a loophole allowing private jet owners to evade import duties, which are typically five percent of the jet’s value.
Many owners have been reluctant to pay these substantial sums, opting instead to exploit the temporary waiver provided under international regulations.
However, the new Customs leadership appears determined to close these loopholes and recover all unpaid duties.
