Aviation

Customs ground bank’s jet over unpaid import duty

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2024

Customs ground bank’s jet over unpaid import duty

The Nigeria Customs Service has grounded a United States-registered Gulfstream G650ER jet belonging to a leading Nigerian bank over unpaid import duty.

This, according to a PUNCH report signalled the commencement of government’s clampdown on owners of private jets over unpaid import duty running into billions of naira.

The development came barely two weeks after the NCS began a one-month verification of private jet owners in the country.

The exercise, which began on June 19, 2024, is expected to end on July 19, 2024.

In a public notice by the Customs, the exercise aims to identify private jet operators that have illegally imported aircraft into the country without paying the necessary import duties.

The customs had recovered about N2bn into the government coffers when a similar exercise was carried out in 2019.

At least 80 private jet owners are expected to present their import documents and aircraft certificate of registration to the Customs in Abuja during the one-month exercise.

Although the grounding of private jets which fail to pay the necessary import duty is expected to begin after the one-month Customs verification exercise, findings showed that moves by some operators to export their aircraft might have forced the NCS to begin the clampdowns on some private jet operators.

The Nigeria Customs Service had last week said some operators of foreign registered private jets were temporarily flying their aircraft out of the country apparently in a bid to evade the exercise.

However, findings by The PUNCH on Sunday disclosed that a luxury Gulfstream G650ER plane belonging to a tier-1 bank had been grounded at Lagos airport over unpaid import duties reportedly estimated at N1.9bn.

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It was learnt that the NCS had written the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency asking them to cancel the flight clearance approval given to the private aircraft.

Our correspondent gathered that the agencies had received the letters to distrain the US-registered Gulfstream G650ER with registration number N331AB and manufacturer’s serial number 6487.

The bank is reportedly owing about N1.9bn in unpaid import duties to the government on two formerly owned private jets (Gulfstream G450 and Gulfstream G550 aircraft), which according to sources have since been taken out of the country.

It was also understood that the assessment of N1.9bn was based on a verification exercise carried out by the NCS in 2021.

It was learnt that going by the current exchange rate, the N1.9bn might be raised to about N6bn. Aircraft import duties are computed based on prevailing exchange rate.

NCAA and NAMA officials said they had received the cancellation of the previously granted flight clearance approval for the Gulfstream G650ER aircraft.

According to the letter, the luxury aircraft which cost over $65m, was found to have contravened the Federal Government’s import duty regulations and as such denied the necessary Export Permit by the Customs Service Area Command at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

A copy of the letter written to the NCAA and NAMA, which was sighted by one of our correspondents, was titled “Re: cancellation of flight clearance approval for Gulfstream G650ER with registration N331AB and manufacturer’s serial number 6487.”

The letter read in part, “The above subject matter refers. The Nigeria Customs in its drive for enhanced revenue collection decided to do a verification exercise on private airlines operating in Nigeria.

“The verification aims to identify privately owned aircraft that were inappropriately imported into the country. This will enable the Service to perfect these Imports and collect revenue accruable to the Federal Government.

“The above-cited aircraft has been found to have contravened the Federal Government’s import duty regulations and as such denied Export Permit by the Customs Service (MMIA Command).

“In furtherance to the above, we are soliciting your kind co-operation and assistance to deny flight clearance approval”

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The Comptroller General, NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, had two weeks ago said a good number of private jets were leaving the country as the verification began.

Adeniyi, who disclosed this while speaking in an interview with Arise Television, stated that since the exercise started, only a few owners have shown up.

“Very few of them (private jet operators) have showed up for verification and we gather intelligence that a good number of them are leaving Nigeria since the announcement was given because they would not want to be verified,” he said.

The CGC explained that the service introduced the private jet verification exercise because more private jets were operating outside the ambits of the law.

“We have seen so many of these aircraft flying and our record tends to show that only a few of them have shown up to pay duty and this is why we are bringing this verification up,” he said.

The CGC disclosed that data obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority revealed that though many private jets were operating in the country, only a few had paid customs duties.

Adeniyi explained that when the exercise started sometime in 2019, the service realised N2bn.

“Recall this was not the first time we did it. We did something close to this in 2019 and the exercise fetched us as much as N2bn within the short time that we did it.

“We discovered that there are more private jets that are operating in Nigeria but have not been brought under the ambit of the law. So the data that we got from the NCAA shows that only very few of them paid customs duty to operate in Nigeria,” he stated.

According to the customs boss, the international aviation regulations show that private jets flying in the country are obliged to pay duty.

“If they are here for a brief period in the Nigerian airspace and return, they are not obliged to pay any duty; that is, if they are here on a temporary importation visit. But once they are here and are used within Nigeria, they are liable to pay duty,”

The CGC reiterated that the verification exercise was meant to confirm “aircraft operating within the ambit of the law and those that are operating outside the law.”

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According to a Customs notice, private aircraft owners are expected to bring some documents for the verification exercise, namely aircraft Certificate of Registration, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s Flight Operation Compliance Certificate, NCAA’s Maintenance Compliance Certificate, NCAA’s Permit for Non-Commercial Flights, and Temporary Import Permit (if applicable).

The latest clampdowns on operators of improperly imported private jets came more than one year after the Federal Government suspended the action.

In the past three years, the government had planned to recover import duty running into billions of naira from some private jet operators who had used certain technical loopholes to evade the payment of import duty.

A few private jet owners paid the mandatory import duty after the Hameed Ali-led NCS took some significant steps to recover the revenue. However, several owners and operators of private jets in the country have yet to pay the statutory duty.

Many private aircraft operators in the country have allegedly explored technical loopholes in the regulation to fraudulently obtain a Temporary Import Permit from the Nigeria Customs Service instead of paying the statutory import duty on their imported aircraft.

The TIP, which is valid for an initial period of 12 months, can be extended by six months twice, according to the regulations.

However, several operators of private jets in the country have continued to extend the TIP indefinitely, a development that prompted the Customs to effect past clampdowns.

According to new findings, no fewer than 80 private jet operators are expected to present their aircraft import documents for verification during the one-month exercise.

The TIP has been described by some stakeholders as a fraudulent means of evading the mandatory import duty. Importers of private jets, especially foreign registered private jets, are expected to pay five per cent of the value of the private jet as import duty.

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However, due to the high cost of private jets, some owners often prefer not to pay the import, according to Customs officials.

Instead, the operators prefer to obtain a TIP under the guise that the aircraft is coming into the country for a temporary period, quoting the International Civil Aviation Organisation Convention Article 24 which focuses on Customs waiver for commercial aircraft operating in a country temporarily.

But the new leadership of Customs appears poised to get all operators to pay the import duty.

Unconfirmed sources said the government might get close to N100bn in unpaid import duty on imported private aircraft due to the high exchange rate.

This analysis is however dependent on whether the Customs chooses to implement the 25 per cent penalty fee such aircraft owners are meant to pay for delayed payment. The 25 per cent penalty fee is in addition to the statutory five per cent import duty.

Meanwhile, National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, recently confirmed the verification exercise, which began two Wednesdays ago.

Sometime in 2021, about 17 owners of foreign-registered private jets, comprising top business moguls, leading commercial banks, and other rich Nigerians, dragged the Federal Government to court, seeking to stop the grounding of their planes over alleged import duty default.

This came after the Federal Government approved the decision of the Nigeria Customs Service to ground about 91 private jets over their alleged refusal to pay import duties running to over N30bn.

The NCS had in 2021 embarked on a review of import duties paid on private jets brought into the country since 2006.

At the end of the 60-day exercise, 57 private jets, which had licences for commercial charter operations, were cleared and issued Aircraft Operators Certificates by the Customs.

However, 29 private jets, whose owners came for the verification, were found to be liable to pay the import duty.

The Customs also compiled a list of another 62 private jets whose owners failed to appear for the verification exercise but were found liable for import duty payment.

Customs ground bank’s jet over unpaid import duty

PUNCH

Related Topics:bank's jet Customs Featured import duty

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FAAN Introduces Hybrid Toll Payment System Following Tinubu’s Directive

Published

1 month ago

March 6, 2026

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FAAN Introduces Hybrid Toll Payment System Following Tinubu’s Directive

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has introduced a temporary hybrid toll payment system at airports nationwide following heavy traffic congestion caused by the rollout of its cashless toll payment policy. The move comes after President Bola Tinubu directed the authority to ease implementation challenges to prevent travel disruptions.

FAAN Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, told journalists in Lagos on Thursday that the decision followed severe gridlock at major airport toll gates, particularly Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as motorists struggled to adapt to fully digital payment methods. “He [the President] saw the traffic congestion and directed us to temporarily revert to a hybrid approach,” Kuku said. “This ensures smoother access while we refine the cashless system — it is a win for the industry.”

The hybrid model allows commuters and travellers to pay tolls using a combination of cash, prepaid FAAN cards, e-tags, debit cards, and other electronic options. Kuku emphasized that the arrangement will let FAAN continue its digital payment initiative while still accommodating users who have yet to register or activate electronic payment channels.

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She highlighted that the authority had registered over 100,000 users on its cashless platform between October 2025 and March 3, 2026, with around 60,000 sign-ups occurring in the final three days before the March 1 rollout deadline. The technology reportedly achieved a 99% success rate during initial operations, demonstrating strong potential for adoption once operational challenges are addressed.

Kuku explained that the initial rollout lacked a comprehensive pilot phase due to the pressure to meet the government’s deadline. The additional time granted by the Presidency now serves as an extended pilot period, enabling FAAN to raise public awareness, onboard private technology partners, and enhance monitoring mechanisms to prevent revenue leakages while cash payments are still allowed.

The MD noted that no new deadline has been set for the complete elimination of cash payments. The focus now is on refining the system, ensuring user convenience, and achieving a smooth transition to a fully digital tolling platform in line with global best practices in airport infrastructure management.

FAAN said the hybrid arrangement aims to prevent delays that could cause passengers to miss flights, while also maintaining transparency in revenue collection and improving overall airport operational efficiency.

FAAN Introduces Hybrid Toll Payment System Following Tinubu’s Directive

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FCCPC Finds Evidence of Airfare Manipulation by Domestic Airlines

Published

2 months ago

February 27, 2026

Trends Admin

FCCPC Finds Evidence of Airfare Manipulation by Domestic Airlines

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it has uncovered credible evidence of airfare manipulation by domestic airlines in Nigeria, revealing that some carriers may have artificially inflated ticket prices during the December 2025 festive travel season beyond what market forces would justify. In an interim report released on Thursday, the FCCPC said its extensive forensic review of airfare data collected directly from airlines across key domestic routes shows striking irregularities in pricing patterns that appear inconsistent with normal seasonal demand, fuel costs, foreign exchange movements, or other operational variables.

The review by the Commission’s Surveillance and Investigations Department, led by Director of Corporate Affairs Ondaje Ijagwu, compared peak-season fares in December 2025 against ticket prices in the post-holiday period of January 2026. In many cases — notably on high-traffic corridors such as Abuja–Port Harcourt, Lagos–Calabar, and Lagos–Enugu — the difference in fares reached as high as ₦405,000 for a single ticket, even though essential cost drivers remained relatively stable. “These fare differences appear to reflect airlines’ arbitrary pricing decisions, yield management strategies, and capacity allocation practices rather than any variation in regulated fees or significant changes in operating conditions,” Ijagwu said, suggesting that multiple domestic carriers might have engaged in tacit coordination rather than true competition.

The report also showed that during the peak period, reduced seat availability paired with clustered price ranges across multiple operators raised further competition concerns, lending weight to potential violations of Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018. The interim findings flagged possible breaches of provisions governing restraint of competition, abuse of dominant positions, price-fixing, conspiracy, unfair contract terms, and consumers’ right to fair dealings — signalling that airlines may have breached multiple competition and consumer protection rules.

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The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) swiftly pushed back against the FCCPC’s report. AON spokesman Prof. Obiora Okonkwo said the Commission lacks the specialised expertise to analyse aviation pricing, warning that the probe could harm Nigeria’s fragile airline sector. “They don’t understand the economics of airlines or how ticket prices are set based on yield, load factors, aircraft utilisation and revenue management systems,” Okonkwo said. “This action is very detrimental to the survival of domestic operators.”

Independent aviation analysts in Nigeria say pricing behaviour in the sector has long lacked transparency. Dr. Uche Okoro, a transport economist, told news editors that while peak-season travel normally pushes fares up, the consistency of spikes across multiple airlines on the same dates and routes — even where there was no significant change in fuel or exchange rates — suggests coordinated pricing behaviour. “Market competition should push airlines to differentiate prices based on service levels and actual costs,” Okoro said. “When several carriers raise prices almost in unison, especially on predictable peak travel dates, it warrants scrutiny.”

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) acknowledged the FCCPC’s interim report and pledged to support the broader probe, noting that the aviation sector must balance airline financial sustainability with fair market practices. An NCAA spokesperson said: “We are engaging with the FCCPC and industry stakeholders to promote a transparent pricing environment. While airlines need to remain viable, consumers must also be protected from exploitative fare regimes.” The NCAA emphasised that factors such as fleet size limits, airport slot restrictions, seasonal demand patterns, and infrastructure capacity do affect pricing, but agreed that unusually steep price spikes merit investigation.

According to the FCCPC, the route-by-route analysis showed that on Abuja–Port Harcourt, average peak-period fares were far higher than post-peak levels, with many tickets in December priced well above the typical seasonal range. On Lagos–Calabar and Lagos–Enugu, similar patterns of clustered fare bands across airlines suggested pricing behaviour broadly aligned among competitors rather than differentiated by market forces. Across sampled routes, median fares during the festive period were significantly elevated compared with post-peak benchmarks, despite stable fuel price trends, unchanged airport taxes, and no major exchange rate shocks. The FCCPC noted that while predictable seasonal demand surges can justify higher fares, the magnitude and pattern of the increases observed in December 2025 are not fully explained by ordinary market conditions.

FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Tunji Bello stressed that the interim report is not an enforcement action, but a step toward deeper investigation. “The Commission’s role is to ensure that market outcomes reflect competition and consumer protection principles,” he said, adding that full findings and possible enforcement measures will follow after the ongoing review. Bello also signalled that foreign airlines operating international routes involving Nigeria will soon be probed, following complaints that Nigerian passengers are often charged significantly higher fares on similar international distances. “No operator — domestic or foreign — will be shielded if evidence confirms fare-fixing or consumer exploitation,” Bello said. The FCCPC has asked both airlines and consumers to assist in the investigation by providing additional data, while warning airlines that violations of the FCCPA could result in regulatory sanctions, fines, or mandatory corrective orders once the full review is concluded.

FCCPC Finds Evidence of Airfare Manipulation by Domestic Airlines

Aviation

248 Passengers Safe as Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing in Lagos

Published

3 months ago

January 17, 2026

Trends Admin

Murtala Muhammed International Airport

248 Passengers Safe as Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing in Lagos

An aircraft carrying 248 passengers and 12 crew members made a successful emergency landing in Lagos after developing a mid-air technical fault, aviation and emergency authorities have confirmed.

The aircraft, operated by Qatar Airways, landed safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after the flight crew alerted air traffic control to the fault while en route. Emergency response teams were immediately placed on standby as the plane approached the runway.

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Officials said the aircraft executed a controlled landing, with all passengers and crew evacuated safely and no injuries or fatalities recorded. Emergency agencies, including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), FAAN, fire services and medical responders, coordinated the operation.

Eyewitnesses at the airport described tense moments as rescue teams lined the runway, but calm was restored shortly after landing when passengers disembarked without incident.

The incident has again drawn attention to aviation safety in Nigeria, though authorities praised the swift response and professionalism of the flight crew and emergency agencies, noting that early alerts and coordination helped avert a major disaster.