The Federal Government of Nigeria has reversed its decision to ground 60 privately owned jets due to unpaid import duties amounting to several billions of naira.
This decision comes after the Nigeria Customs Service initially directed the Nigeria Airspace Management Authority to ground defaulting jets as part of efforts to recover the unpaid taxes.
According to The PUNCH, the majority of private jets in the country had not cleared their import duties, prompting the NCS to launch a verification exercise between June and July of 2024.
This exercise aimed to identify private jet owners who had not fulfilled their financial obligations.
Nearly three months later, the directive to ground these jets was expected to take effect, but the NCS has now extended the deadline.
Speaking on the matter, the acting Managing Director of NAMA, Umar Farouk, revealed that the jets were supposed to be grounded on Monday, October 14, 2024, but a new letter from the NCS has delayed the action.
The letter requested an additional 30-day grace period to give defaulters more time to settle their outstanding import duties.
“We were supposed to ground the jets today (Monday) but we got another letter from customs requesting that the action be suspended for another month, maybe that is to allow for settlement,” Farouk explained.
This extension was confirmed by NCS spokesperson, Abdullah Maiwada, in a statement also sent to The PUNCH.
The statement underscored that the service is aiming to resolve the matter through dialogue, given that many operators had shown interest in regularizing their duties.
“The Nigeria Customs Service wishes to inform the general public, particularly operators of privately-owned aircraft, that the verification exercise for the recovery of import duties on illegally imported private aircraft has been extended by one month, from Monday, October 14, 2024, to Thursday, November 14, 2024,” the statement read.
The additional time, according to NCS officials, will be used to further engage with the aircraft operators who are willing to settle their debts, potentially avoiding the grounding of the jets.
