Nigeria Central Bank clears 36 items for access to official forex
Nigeria’s central bank has given further clarity to 36 items that are eligible to access foreign exchange at the official window of the country’s much watched currency markets.
The CBN, in a communication to authorised market dealers signed by Woritka Dauda Gotring, its director of trade and exchange, said importers were now free to source foreign exchange for various items including animal or vegetable fats and oil fractions, hydrogenated (not including palm oil/Olein and margarine); prepared glues and adhesive based on polymers of headings 39.01 to 39.13 or on rubber; other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip of polymers of ethylene printed (only for pharmaceutical manufacturing); and bobbins, spools, cops and similar supports of paperboard … of kind used for winding textile yarn.
Other listed items are uncoated Kraft paper and board in rolls; synthetic filament yarn, textured yarn of nylon or other polyamides measuring per single yarn more than 50 text; woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from material…polypropylene fabrics of the type used as carpet backing; laboratory – hygienic or pharmaceutical glassware; other articles of plastics and articles of other matter (only for pharmaceutical manufacturing); and non-domestic heating/cooling equipment, other machinery, plant or laboratory equipment not specified (only for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, had earlier said a recent circular titled: “re: Revised Documentation Requirements for Allocation of Foreign Exchange, for Small-Scale Importation,” did not imply the removal of restriction placed on 41 items from accessing the official forex window. He emphasized the ban on the items not eligible for FX remained in place.
A previously issued circular, which classified some items as, “Not Valid For Forex” with transactions value of $20,000 and below per quarter, had stated they “shall now qualify for allocation of foreign exchange (FX) going forward,” subject to the completion of Form ‘Q’ by the small scale importers.
The May 3, 2017, circular also signed by Gotring, had stated: “Please note that importers of items classified as “Not Valid for Forex with transactions value of $20,000 and below per quarter shall now qualify for allocation of foreign exchange subject to completion of Form Q. Note that this circular supersedes earlier circular on the subject matter.”
Business a.m. live staff