Nigeria – Prohibited and Restricted Imports

Includes a list of goods that are prohibited from being exported to the country or are otherwise restricted.

Nigeria’s list of prohibited or restricted imports is as follows:

1. Live or dead birds including frozen poultry.
2. Pork, beef, bird’s eggs, excluding hatching eggs
3. Refined vegetable oils and fats (includes mayonnaise).   Crude vegetable oil is NOT banned from importation.
4. Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form in retail packs.
5. Cocoa butter, powder and cakes.
6. Spaghetti/noodles.
7. Fruit Juice in retail packs.
8. Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters containing added sugar or sweetening matter or flavored, ice snow, other non-alcoholic beverages and beer and stout (bottled, canned or otherwise packed, but excluding energy or health drinks (liquid dietary supplements).
9. Bagged cement.
10. Medicaments as indicated below:  
    • Paracetamol tablets and syrups;
    • Cotrimoxazole tablets and syrups;
    • Metronidazole tablets and syrups;
    • Chloroquine tablets and syrups;
    • Haematinic formulations; ferrous sulphate and ferrous gluconate tablets, folic acid tablets, vitamin B Complex Tablets (except modified released formulations).
    • Multivitamin tablets, capsules and syrups (except special formulations);
    • Aspirin tablets (except modified released formulation and soluble aspirin);
    • Magnesium trisilicate tablets and suspensions.
    • Piperazine tablets and syrups;
    • Levamisole tablets and syrups;
    • Clotrimazole cream;
    • Ointments – penicillin/gentamycin;
    • Pyrantel pamoate tablets and syrups; and
    • Intravenous fluids (dextrose, normal saline, etc.).
    • Waste Pharmaceuticals.
11. Soaps and Detergents in retail packs only.
12. Mosquito Repellent Coils.
13. Sanitary Wares of Plastics and Domestic Articles and Wares of Plastics (but excluding Baby Feeding bottles) and flushing cistern and waterless toilets.
14. Rethreaded and used Pneumatic tires but excluding used trucks tires for rethreading of sized 11.00 x 20 and above.
15. Corrugated Paper and Paper Boards, and cartons, boxes and cases made from corrugated paper and paper boards, toilet paper, cleaning or facial tissue, excluding baby diapers and incontinent pads for adult use.
16. Telephone Re-charge cards and vouchers.
17. Carpets and other textile floor coverings.
18. All types of Foot Wears, Bags and Suitcases but excluding Safety Shoes used in oil industries, sports shoes, canvass shoes all Completely Knocked Down (CKD) blanks and parts.
19. Hollow Glass Bottles of a capacity exceeding 150mls (0.15 liters) of all kinds used for packaging of beverages by breweries and other beverage and drink companies.
20. Used compressors and used fridges/freezers.
21. Used Motor Vehicles above fifteen (15) years from the year of manufacture.
22. Furniture, but excluding baby walkers, laboratory cabinets such as microscope table, fume cupboards, laboratory benches, Stadium Chairs, height adjustments device, base sledge, seat frames and control mechanism, arm guide and head guides.  Also excluded are; skeletal parts of furniture such as blanks, upholstered or unfinished part of metal, plastics, veneer, chair shell etc.  Also excluded are Motor Vehicle seats and Seats other than garden seats or camping equipment, convertible into beds.
23. Ball Point Pens and parts including refills (excluding tip).

In addition, NCS lists items whose importation is “absolutely prohibited:”

1. Air Pistols
2. Airmail Photographic Printing Paper.
3. All counterfeit/pirated materials or articles including Base or Counterfeit Coin of any Country.
4. Beads composed of inflammable celluloid or other similar substances.
5. Blank invoices.
6. Coupons for Foreign Football pools or other betting arrangements.
7. Cowries.
8. Exhausted tea or tea mixed with other substances.
9. Implements appertaining to the reloading of cartridges.
10. Indecent or obscene prints, painting, books, cards, engraving or any indecent or obscene articles.
11. Manilas.
12. Matches made with white phosphorous.
13. Materials of any description with a design which, considering the purpose for which any such material is intended to be used, is likely in – the opinion of the president to create a breach of the peace or to offend the religious views of any class of persons in Nigeria.
14. Meat, Vegetables or other provisions declared by a health officer to be unfit for human consumption.
15. Piece goods and all other textiles including wearing apparel, hardware of all kinds’ crockery and china or earthenware goods bearing inscriptions (whether in Roman or Arabic characters) from the Koran or from the traditions and commentaries on the Koran.
16. Pistols disguised in any form.
17. Second-hand clothing.
18. Silver or metal alloy coins not being legal tender in Nigeria.
19. Nuclear Industrial waste and other Toxic waste
20. Some spirits
21. Weapons and ammunition of any description which in the opinion of the Comptroller-General are designed for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other similar substance.

Besides the import restrictions by NCS, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2015 restricted access to foreign exchange at the official window for importers of several items. Instead, importers of the under-listed items source foreign exchange from the parallel market where the price of forex is significantly higher than the official rate. However, in May 2017, the CBN lifted the restriction on importers whose cumulative transactions are $20,000 and below per quarter. 

Items which are ineligible for Foreign Exchange at the CBN’s Official Window are as follows: 

1. Rice
2. Cement
3. Margarine
4. Palm kernel/Palm oil products/vegetables oils
5. Meat and processed meat products                         
6. Vegetables and processed vegetable products
7. Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey
8. Private airplanes/jets
9. Indian incense
10. Tinned fish in sauce(Geisha)/sardines
11. Cold rolled steel sheets
12. Galvanized steel sheets
13. Roofing sheets
14. Wheelbarrows
15. Head pans
16. Metal boxes and containers
17. Enamelware
18. Steel drums
19. Steel pipes
20. Wire rods (deformed and not deformed)
21. Iron rods and reinforcing bard
22. Wire mesh
23. Steel nails
24. Security and razor wire
25. Wood particle boards and panels
26. Wood Fibre Boards and Panels
27. Plywood boards and panels
28. Wooden doors
29. Toothpicks
30. Glass and Glassware
31. Kitchen utensils
32.  Tableware
33. Tiles-vitrified and ceramic
34. Textiles
35. Woven fabrics
36. Clothes
37. Plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers
38. Soap and cosmetics
39. Tomatoes/tomato pastes
40. Eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases

Customs Regulations: NCS’ Customs and Excise Tariff is based on the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature (CCCN).  Duties are either specific or ad valorem, depending on the commodity, and are payable in Nigerian Naira upon entry.  Import tariffs are non-preferential and apply equally to all countries outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  A local insurance company must insure all imported goods.  A special duty may be imposed on imported goods if the government feels that such goods are being dumped or unfairly subsidized, thus threatening established or potential domestic industries.

Duties previously paid on abandoned, re-exported, damaged, or destroyed goods may be refunded.  However, a claim must be made before the goods leave customs custody.  A destruction certificate must be obtained from a customs officer to obtain a refund of duties paid for goods that were subsequently destroyed.  Upon presentation of a customs certificate attesting to the landing of goods in another country, duties paid on such goods in Nigeria will be refunded.