By MARTHA AGAS

The Nigeria Customs Service has given 223 importers a 21-day grace period to regularise their Temporary Admission Permits (TAPs) or face penalties for defaulting.

The Spokesman of the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

The NCS said the grace period begins on Monday, July 28.

The service said that its recent compliance checks revealed that 223 companies had failed to adhere to the conditions of the TAP regime.

According to the NCS, these defaults amount to a total bond value of about N380 billion.

“The 21-day grace period, therefore, serves as a final window for affected importers to take corrective action.

“At the expiration of this deadline, the service will commence enforcement actions, which may include bond invocation, imposition of penalties, and legal proceedings,” the service said.

The NCS urged the affected importers to take immediate steps to regularise their importation status.

This, it said, was either by applying for a valid extension, re-exporting the items under customs supervision, or converting the goods to home use, subject to the payment of appropriate duties.

“It is pertinent to note that temporary importation is a regulated concession under international and national customs frameworks, including the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and Sections 142 to 144 of the NCS Act, 2023.

“It allows the temporary admission of goods into the country without full duty payment, provided such goods are re-exported within a specified period without alteration beyond normal depreciation,” the service said.

The NCS added that the importers had neither re-exported the goods nor fulfilled their obligation to convert them to home use by paying the necessary duties.

The service added, that by law, all TAP beneficiaries were required to secure their duty exemption with bank bonds, which serve as financial guarantees in case of non-compliance.

According to it, typically, TAPs are granted for 12 months, with extension by another year, and under special consideration, a further extension of six months plus a final six-month grace period.

“Failure to comply after these periods constitutes a breach.

“In line with Section 143 of the NCS Act 2023, the Nigeria Customs Service is empowered to discharge the bond value as customs duty into the Federal Government’s account if the importer fails to meet the stated obligations,” the service said.

“The NCS, under the leadership of the Comptroller-General (C-G), Adewale Adeniyi,” it added, “remained fully committed to enforcing regulatory compliance, protecting national revenue, and maintaining the integrity of the TAP framework.”

It urged stakeholders and the trading public to take advantage of this grace period to avoid actions that could result in sanctions. (NAN)