FG may ground 60 private jets today due to import duties.

Over 60 private jets owned by prominent individuals in the nation will be grounded by the Federal Government on Monday (today) due to unpaid import duties totaling several billions of naira. This action will be taken through the Nigerian Customs Service.

The enforcement exercise would start on October 14th, 2024, according to documents that were exclusively seen by The PUNCH on Sunday and were exchanged between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.

According to reports, most private aircraft in the nation do not have their duties paid; the NCS is attempting to recoup unpaid import charges totaling several billions of naira.

The NCS reportedly conducted a one-month verification exercise on all private jet owners in the nation between June and July as a result of the development.

The most recent decision to ground the private aircraft was made over three months following the NCS verification test.

However, according to documents obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday, some wealthy businessmen, including chairmen and senior executives of certain institutions, would not be allowed to fly their private planes.

The NCS has already formally informed the wealthy private jet owners who will be impacted by the decision.

The records indicate that most of the aircraft affected are privately owned Nigerian aircraft with international registrations.

Bombardier Challenger 604 CL-600-2B16, Challenger 3500, BD-700 Global 6000, BD-700 Global 6500, and BD-700 Global 7500 are a few of the high-end aircraft on the list. The projected cost of each Bombardier BD-700 Global 7500 is over$70m, compared to over $50m for the Global 6500 and 6000 versions.

This occurred as it was reported that a few influential private aircraft operators had pressured the President prior to the grounding drill on Monday; nevertheless, our journalist discovered that the President declined to intervene.

It was discovered that certain operators had started the process of paying the import duty as a result of the development. According to officials, a few owners of private jets promised to pay the levy this week.

Operators of a major Nigerian bank’s Gulfstream G650ER aircraft, registered in the United States, have already They allegedly paid N5.3 billion in import taxes to get out of the clampdown.

During a similar action in 2019, the Customs had retrieved some duties into the government coffers.

However, the letters that were discovered on Sunday stated that unless the unpaid debts were resolved, private and corporate aircraft could not take to the air.

The government anticipates making a sizable profit from this enforcement action.

Nevertheless, it has been claimed that three of these aircraft, which are scheduled for grounding today, were flown outside of the nation. When the planes get back to the nation, though, they will be forced to land.

The Nigerian Customs Act of 2023, according to officials who spoke under anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the subject, gives the The person paid N5.3 billion in import duties to evade the enforcement action.

A similar operation was conducted in 2019 and the Customs had retrieved some duties into the government coffers.

However, according to the letters discovered on Sunday, aircraft owned by well-known people and businesses were forbidden from taking to the air until unpaid bills were resolved.

The government anticipates that this enforcement action will bring in a sizable sum of money.

Three of these aircraft, which are supposed to be grounded today, have allegedly been flown out of the nation. But as soon as they get back in the nation, the planes will be grounded.

Officials, speaking under anonymity because they lacked the authority to discuss the subject, claimed that the Nigerian Customs Act of 2023 gives the the owner or importer of any products brought into the nation unlawfully will be subject to penalties from the customs department.

The NCS has sent demand notes to all impacted owners and importers, the spokesman continued, directing them to settle unpaid customs on their private aircraft.

Some aircraft owners have made formal promises to pay the debts when they return to Nigeria, while others have started talks with the NCS to settle the unpaid balances.

The NCS is expected to profit more than N260 billion from this enforcement action.

According to the findings, the NCS had written to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, asking that the listed aircraft’s flight clearances be revoked until the outstanding charges were paid or the NCS issued new directives.

Four of the seized aircraft are presently in negotiations with Customs, and their owners have agreed to pay the necessary duties, according to additional information obtained by The PUNCH.

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency admitted receiving a letter from the NCS about recovering import charges on private aircraft that were unlawfully imported, according to correspondence seen by our correspondent.

In addition to ordering Air Traffic Control units to ground any non-compliant aircraft beginning on October 14, 2024, until cleared by the Nigeria Customs Service, the agency also sent out a Notice to Airmen.

Additionally, NAMA asked that cleared aircraft details be sent as soon as possible to avoid problems and guarantee efficient cooperation. The agency stated that it would work with the government to improve aviation operations’ transparency and boost the country’s economy.

In In July, Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi of NCS announced that a few private aircraft were departing the nation in order to avoid the verification process.

Since the announcement, very few of the private aircraft operators have shown up for verification, and we have information that many of them are fleeing Nigeria because they would not want to be validated,” he stated.

The CGC clarified that more private jets were operating outside of legal boundaries, which is why the service launched the private jet verification exercise.

We are bringing up this verification because we have observed so many of these aircraft flying and our records generally indicate that very few of them have showed up to pay duty,” he said.

The CGC revealed that although a large number of private aircraft were operating in the nation, only a small number had paid customs charges, according to data gathered from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

We found that more private aircraft are in operation in Nigeria but are not subject to legal restrictions. According to the NCAA statistics, very few of them paid customs duty in order to operate in Nigeria, the speaker said.

The head of customs claims that international aviation laws mandate that private aircraft operating within the nation must pay duty.

“They are not required to pay any charge if they visit Nigerian airspace for a short while and then leave; that is, if they are on a short-term importing visit. However, duty must be paid if they are utilized in Nigeria after arriving here.

Over the last three years, the government has been planning to recover billions of naira in import duty from private aircraft operators who have taken advantage of technological loopholes to avoid paying import duty.

After the NCS led by Hameed Ali made some major moves to reclaim the revenue, a few owners of private jets paid the obligatory import duty. Nonetheless, a number of private aircraft owners and operators in the nation have not yet paid the required amount.

Numerous private aircraft operators within the nation are purported to have looked into technical gaps in the regulation in order to illegally obtain a Nigerian Temporary Import Permit.

Customs Service in lieu of paying their imported aircraft’s mandatory import charge.

As per the laws, the TIP can be extended twice by six months after its initial 12-month length.

Nonetheless, a few of private aircraft operators within the nation have persisted in extending the TIP indefinitely, a behavior that has led the Customs to implement previous crackdowns.

Some parties have characterized the TIP as a dishonest way to avoid paying the required import charge. Five percent of the private jet’s value is expected to be paid in import duties by those who import them, particularly those whose aircraft are registered outside.

But given the high price of private aircraft, some owners frequently choose not to cover the import, according to to the Customs officers.

Citing the International Civil Aviation Organization Convention Article 24, which focuses on customs waiver for commercial aircraft operating in a country briefly, the operators instead prefer to get a TIP on the pretense that the aircraft is entering the nation for a little time.

However, it seems that Customs’ new administration is prepared to force all businesses to pay the import charge.

Thanks for reading.