CBN to begin e-invoice for imports, exports February 1

The Central Bank of Nigeria says all import and export operations will require the submission of an electronic invoice authenticated by the authorised-dealer banks on the Nigeria single window portal, Trade Monitoring System with effect from February 1.

The CBN stated this on Friday in a circular signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr O. S. Nnaji, sent to all authorised dealers and the general public.

It said, ‘Further to the circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/005 dated August 05, 2020, all authorised dealers and the general public are hereby informed of the introduction of e-valuator and e-invoice which replaces hard copy final invoice as part of the documentation required for all import and export transactions.

“Effective February 1, 2022, all import and export operations will require the submission of an electronic invoice authenticated by the authorised dealer banks on the Nigeria single window portal – Trade Monitoring System.

“This new regulation is primarily aimed at achieving accurate value from import and export items in and out of Nigeria.”

According to the CBN, the e-invoicing guidelines require that products that are more than 2.5 per cent around the vertical price would be queried and will not be allowed successful completion of Form M or Form NXP as the case may be.

It said an importer/exporter of goods into Nigeria must ensure that the purchase/sale contract with a foreign supplier/buyer stipulates compliance with the obligations set out in this regulation and that the supplier’s/seller’s invoice must be submitted in electronic format and authenticated by authorised dealer bank as part of the documentation for payment.

“No importer/exporter may effect payment to the credit of any foreign supplier unless the electronic invoice has been authenticated by authorised dealer banks presented together with the relevant document for payments,” it added.