Owners of private aircraft operating in the nation have been requested by the federal government to produce their documentation for approval.
Through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), it sent out a notice containing the order. The exercise, according to the NCS, aims to find privately owned aircraft that have been wrongly imported without the necessary paperwork, guarantee proper imports, and maximize revenue collection.
According to the release, “The Nigeria Customs Service announces a verification exercise for privately owned aircraft operating in Nigeria.”
“The goal of this exercise is to locate private aircraft that have been improperly imported without the necessary paperwork, ensuring proper imports and maximum revenue collection.”
The 30-day program is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, or tomorrow. The location is the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters, located at 4 Abidjan Street, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, in the Tariff and Trade Department Room.
The verification exercise is scheduled to take place every day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The notice states that those who own and operate private aircraft within the nation must present certain necessary documentation.
These consist of the registration certificate for the aircraft, the flight operation compliance certificate from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the maintenance compliance certificate from the NCAA, the permit for non-commercial flights from the NCAA, and the temporary import permit, if applicable.
This is the first development since the FG postponed the drill a year ago. The government intended to recoup billions of naira in import duty from a few private aircraft operators who had used technological tricks to avoid paying import duty.
Around 17 wealthy Nigerians, prominent businessmen, and major commercial banks were among the approximately 17 owners of foreign-registered private jets that filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government sometime in 2021 to prevent their aircraft from being grounded due to purported import duty default.
This happened after the NCS’s decision to halt around 91 private aircraft due to their purported failure to pay import tariffs totaling more than N30 billion was authorized by the federal government.
The NCS began reviewing import taxes paid on private aircraft bought into the nation since 2006 in 2021.
In March, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority threatened to impose harsh fines on private jet owners with non-commercial flight permits who dared not to engage in commercial aircraft operations.
Owners of PNCF are not allowed to use their aircraft for commercial operations or charter services (such as delivering passengers, goods, or mail for payment or recompense), according to Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection.
He emphasized that the NCAA will take enforcement action against any PNCF holder detected engaging in unauthorised activities, including suspension, withdrawal, or revocation of their Permit for Non-Commercial Flight. He said the directive is in line with Section 32(4) of the Civil Aviation Act 2022.
A portion of the message said, “The public is hereby notified that it is illegal to engage PNCF holders for commercial purposes.”
He made hints that in order to keep an eye on the actions of the holders of PNCFs, NCAA officials have been stationed at private airport wings and general aviation terminals.
Achimugu reiterated the NCAA’s zero-tolerance policy for breaking the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023 and stressed that the organization would continue to enforce rigorous compliance by putting appropriate consequences in place.
