FG Set to Ground 60 Private Jets Over Unpaid Duties

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), is set to ground over 60 private jets owned by prominent individuals due to unpaid import duties totaling several billions of naira.

According to Naija News, the enforcement is scheduled to begin today, October 14th, 2024.

Documents obtained by The PUNCH from exchanges between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency reveal that numerous private jet owners have failed to settle import duties, prompting this enforcement to recover the outstanding sums.

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This action follows a one-month verification exercise conducted by the NCS between June and July 2024, which assessed private jet ownership and import duty compliance. Despite the exercise, many jets remain non-compliant, leading to today’s grounding.

Notably, some of the jets belong to prominent business figures, including top bank executives. Most of these jets are foreign-registered but owned by Nigerians, with luxury aircraft like the Bombardier Challenger 604 and Bombardier BD-700 Global series, worth tens of millions of dollars, among those affected.

As of Sunday, 11 jet owners had been informed of the impending grounding, with another 55 expected to receive notification by the end of today.

Reports suggest that some jet operators attempted to lobby the Presidency for intervention, but these efforts were unsuccessful. Consequently, some owners have begun paying their import duties to avoid sanctions. For example, operators of a U.S.-registered Gulfstream G650ER have reportedly paid N5.3bn in import duties.

This action could generate significant revenue for the government, potentially over N260bn. While some jet owners have started negotiations with the NCS to settle their debts, others have promised to comply when their aircraft return to Nigeria.

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However, officials confirmed that at least three jets have already been flown out of the country to avoid grounding but will face restrictions upon re-entering Nigerian airspace.

The Nigerian Customs Act of 2023 authorizes the NCS to penalize owners of goods, including private jets, imported without proper duties being paid. Demand notices have been issued, and the NCS has requested that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency deny flight clearance for non-compliant aircraft.

The NCS launched its verification exercise after discovering that many private jets in Nigeria were operating without paying the required duties. In July, NCS Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi confirmed that several jets had left the country ahead of the exercise to avoid verification. While some aircraft are temporarily in Nigeria, those used domestically must pay import duties under international aviation regulations.

Over the past three years, the government has been working to recover unpaid import duties from private jet operators, some of whom have exploited technical loopholes, such as obtaining Temporary Import Permits (TIP), to avoid payment. The TIP allows aircraft to operate in Nigeria temporarily, but many operators have used this provision to extend their permits indefinitely, avoiding the 5% import duty on their jets.

However, the new Customs leadership is determined to close these loopholes and recover all unpaid duties.

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