The short version
- Duty follows the ECOWAS tariff bands of 0, 5, 10, 20 and 35% on the CIF value. Finished consumer goods are usually in the 20% band. Your HS code decides the band.
- Extra charges on top: a 7% surcharge on the duty, 0.5% ECOWAS levy on CIF, 1% CISS on FOB, then 7.5% VAT. The 7% surcharge and the CISS are unsettled, and the 4% FOB levy is suspended. See the table.
- The paperwork chain is: TIN on the Nigeria Single Window, SONCAP Product Certificate, Form M through your bank, SONCAP Certificate per shipment, PAAR, then the declaration.
- Sea transit from China is about 35 to 45 days port to port. New phone imports now need NCC type approval and IMEI submission.
What you pay when goods arrive
| Charge | Rate and base | Status in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | 0% (essential social goods), 5% (raw materials, capital goods), 10% (intermediate goods), 20% (finished consumer goods), 35% (goods for economic development), on CIF. The ECOWAS common external tariff runs 2022 to 2027. | Applies. Some tariff lines also carry an Import Adjustment Tax (IAT). |
| Surcharge | 7% of the duty | Unsettled. DHL still applies it in 2026, but Customs said in February 2025 that the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 repealed the old 7% cost-of-collection arrangement. Treat it as "check with your clearing agent". |
| ETLS (ECOWAS levy) | 0.5% of CIF | Applies |
| CISS | 1% of FOB | Unsettled. Its status has been inconsistent since 2025. |
| 4% FOB levy (Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, section 18(1)(a)) | 4% of FOB | Suspended. Announced in early February 2025 and suspended within days, collected from August 4, 2025 (press reports), then suspended again by a Finance Ministry directive of September 15, 2025. The 2026 Customs revenue target approved by the Senate on July 8, 2026 still counts on N1.266 trillion from it, but there was no confirmed reinstatement as of October 21, 2026. |
| VAT | 7.5% on CIF plus duty and levies | Unchanged under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force in 2026. Zero-rated: basic food, medical and pharmaceutical products, educational materials, fertiliser, electric vehicles and parts. |
What changed in 2026
The 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures (circular dated April 1, 2026) replace the 2023 measures. Customs announced implementation around July 29, 2026. Form Ms opened before April 1 with irrevocable commitments had 90 days at the old rates; that window was due to close around June 30, 2026. Press reports give these examples of combined rate cuts: fully built cars from 70% to 40%, glazed ceramic tiles from 55% to 46.25%, zinc-coated steel sheets from 45% to 35%, notebooks from 40% to 30% and envelopes from 50% to 40%. Vehicles also face a green tax from July 1, 2026: 2% for engines of 2,000 to 3,999 cc and 4% for 4,000 cc and above.
Customs converts dollars to naira with its own CBN-set duty exchange rate, shown on the Customs trade portal (it was N1,451.634 per US$ in February 2026). Check the current figure with your clearing agent: it can differ from the market rate.
Worked example: US$3,000 of consumer goods
This is an illustration, not a quote. We assume goods at the 20% duty band, US$3,000 FOB, US$800 freight, insurance at 0.5% of FOB plus freight, and N1,332 per US$ (the NFEM rate on October 19, 2026). We leave out the suspended 4% FOB levy and include the two unsettled charges (7% surcharge and CISS), so this is a cautious estimate.
| Item | How it is worked out | US$ | Naira |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOB goods | Supplier invoice | 3,000 | N3,996,000 |
| Freight | Quote | 800 | N1,065,600 |
| Insurance | 0.5% of (FOB + freight) | 19 | N25,308 |
| CIF value | FOB + freight + insurance | 3,819 | N5,086,908 |
| Duty | 20% of CIF | N1,017,382 | |
| Surcharge | 7% of duty | N71,217 | |
| ETLS | 0.5% of CIF | N25,435 | |
| CISS | 1% of FOB | N39,960 | |
| VAT | 7.5% of (CIF + duty + surcharge + ETLS + CISS) = 7.5% of N6,240,901 | N468,068 | |
| Total duty and taxes | Sum of the five charges above (rows rounded to the naira) | N1,622,060 |
The total of N1,622,060 is about 31.9% of the CIF value. Without the unsettled surcharge and CISS, the total would be lower, so ask your agent which of them Customs is charging on your entry. Port and agent fees, terminal charges and local transport are extra and are not in this example. You can run your own numbers in the Africa import duty calculator.
Banned and restricted goods in 2026
The 2026 measures prohibit 17 categories of imports from outside ECOWAS. Press coverage of the full list includes: poultry, pork, beef, eggs, refined vegetable oil, flavoured or coloured sugar, cocoa butter and powder, tomato products, sweetened or aerated drinks, bagged cement, some medicaments, waste pharmaceuticals, NPK fertiliser, soaps and detergents, corrugated cartons, glass bottles over 150 ml, coated flat-rolled steel 600 mm or wider, and ballpoint pens and refills.
This list comes from news coverage of the circular. Before you buy, check your product and HS code against the official Fiscal Policy Measures document on the Customs website. Food, drugs and medicines are regulated by NAFDAC and need its approval instead of SONCAP. See what is an HS code.
Step by step: clearing a shipment
- Register a TIN on trade.gov.ng, the Nigeria Single Window.
- Get a SONCAP Product Certificate (PC) through an accredited firm. Three of the eight accredited firms are Chinese: CCIC, China Hanson and China Standards Inspection. SON fees are US$500 for PC1 (valid 6 months, single use), US$1,000 for PC2 and US$2,000 for PC3. Processing takes 24 to 96 hours.
- Open a Form M with your bank (under CBN rules), attaching the PC.
- Get a SONCAP Certificate (SC) for each shipment. The fee is US$350.
- Get the PAAR (Pre-Arrival Assessment Report) using the SC.
- File the declaration (SGD) with Customs, usually through a licensed clearing agent.
- Notify SON port operations of the arriving shipment.
Clearing is moving to B'Odogwu, the new customs system replacing NICIS II. It was piloted at PTML, then Apapa and Tin Can; full nationwide deployment was still a 2026 goal at the time of writing. Ask your agent which system your port is using.
Paying your Chinese supplier
- Open the Form M through your bank before paying or shipping. The bank sells you the foreign exchange against it.
- The official rate is the CBN's NFEM rate: about N1,332 per US$ on October 19, 2026 (N1,332.99 on October 12, per Nairametrics citing the CBN).
- Pay the exact company named on the invoice and the Form M. See how to pay Chinese suppliers, and the Incoterms explained for who pays freight and insurance.
Phones and electronics: NCC type approval
In a notice dated October 19, 2026, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), working with Customs, said every device model imported, assembled or sold in Nigeria needs NCC Type Approval. Importers and manufacturers must submit device IMEIs before sale. Non-compliant new devices may be blocked from networks once enforcement is fully in place. The 231 million existing devices are unaffected. The rule covers smartphones, feature phones, tablets, modems, laptops with SIM cards and POS terminals. You can check a phone with the code *315#. No deadline or penalties have been published yet, so get the approval before you place a big order.
Shipping times and ports
| Route (sea, port to port) | Days |
|---|---|
| Nansha to Apapa | 32 to 34 |
| Shanghai to Apapa | 37 to 41 |
| Shanghai to Tin Can | 39 |
| Shanghai to Lekki or Onne | 44 |
Plan on about 35 to 45 days, then clearing time. In October 2026 Tin Can had waits of 24 to 48 hours. On the Asia to West Africa service, Hapag-Lloyd sailings slid by a week and one westbound sailing was cancelled around Golden Week. We have no current Apapa wait figure. For buying, supplier checks and fairs, see buying in Yiwu and Guangzhou from Africa.
Selling to China: zero tariffs for Nigerian exporters
Nigeria is one of the 20 non-LDC African countries on China's zero-tariff regime, from May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028. Products cited as winners include cashew, sesame, ginger, pepper and cocoa. Chinese exports to Nigeria hit a record US$24.9 billion in 2025 (up from US$18.9 billion in 2024), so the trade gap is wide and exporters have room to grow. Read the full rules in exporting to China at zero tariff from Africa.
Frequently asked questions
How much duty will I pay on goods from China to Nigeria?
Duty is 0, 5, 10, 20 or 35% of the CIF value depending on the HS code, and most finished consumer goods fall in the 20% band. On top come the 0.5% ECOWAS levy, 7.5% VAT, and possibly a 7% surcharge on the duty and a 1% CISS on FOB, whose status is unsettled. In our worked example, the total came to about 32% of CIF.
Do I need SONCAP for every shipment?
Most regulated goods need a SONCAP Product Certificate and a SONCAP Certificate for each shipment, which costs US$350. Food, drugs and medicines go to NAFDAC instead. Your clearing agent can confirm which regime your HS code falls under.
Is the 4% FOB levy being collected?
Not as of October 21, 2026. It was announced in February 2025, collected from August 4, 2025, and suspended again by a Finance Ministry directive on September 15, 2025. There has been no confirmed reinstatement, but the 2026 Customs revenue target still counts on it.
Which goods are banned from import into Nigeria in 2026?
The 2026 measures ban 17 categories from outside ECOWAS, including poultry, pork, beef, eggs, refined vegetable oil, tomato products, bagged cement, NPK fertiliser, soaps and detergents, corrugated cartons and ballpoint pens. Check the official circular for the full list before ordering.
Do I need NCC approval to import phones into Nigeria?
Yes. Under the NCC notice of October 19, 2026, every device model imported, assembled or sold needs NCC Type Approval, and importers must submit IMEIs before sale. No deadline or penalties have been published yet.
Rates checked October 21, 2026 against the sources cited. Rates, levies and exchange rates change often, and several charges above are unsettled. The worked example is an illustration, not a quote. General information, not legal, tax or customs advice: confirm with a licensed clearing agent before you ship. SuanSupply is not affiliated with any agency named.