The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued clarifications and amendments to its 30 December 2005 circular on import guidelines, procedures and documentation requirements under documentation inspection.

The second circular, issued on 17 February 2006, was released after industry experts met with CBN to raise their concerns over a number of issues, including reservations over the meaning and application of the word 'attested'.

Transitional arrangements

The December 2005 circular was issued to coincide with the consolidation of Nigeria's 25 banks, a process that concluded on 31 December 2005.

This first circular urged banks to comply with transitional and new regulations concerning letters of credit (L/Cs) that the CBN wanted to see applied since 1 January 2006, the first day of business after the consolidation

U turn

But bankers and other parties concerned with L/C transactions pointed out that Nigeria had to abandon similar rules on documentary credits brought in a few years back, which one documentary credit expert described as a "fiasco"

Responding to the December 2005 circular, several industry experts expressed concerns at a meeting with the CBN, which subsequently issued a second circular to clarify L/C procedures.

No attestation

In its second circular, the CBN declared that 'attestation' is no longer a requirement. Consequently, the central bank now says all sections and subsections in the December 2005 circular that provide for attestation stand amended.

The second circular also clarifies the codes to be used for goods subject to destination inspections and those that are exempt from such inspections as well as arrangements for payments in the foreign exchange market.

More clarifications

The term 'exporting country' or 'country of supply' means the country from which goods are shipped, while carrier and insurance certificates required in the December 2005 circular are no longer required, according to the second circular.

It also deals in some detail with the routing of documents, including the combined certificates of value and origin, certificates of capital importation, manufacturers' certificates, transport documents, phytosanitary certificates, chemical analysis reports and packing lists.

Transitional arrangements

All existing L/Cs not consummated by 17 February should be amended to reflect the new provisions, but transactions deemed 'not valid for foreign exchange' under certain circumstances may be cleared from ports.

The deadline for completion of inspection of goods has been extended to 28 February 2006 in respect of certain goods arriving at Nigerian ports no later than 31 March 2006.

Caveats

The February 2006 circular amends or clarifies several other stipulations in the December 2005 circular - but emphasises that the provisions contained in the earlier circular that are not overridden by the later one remain valid.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.