Importing a production line into Nigeria from China: the 2026 route
The money: what a machinery import actually pays
| Charge | 2026 basis | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 5% of CIF (capital goods) | Confirmed per 8-digit HS code at entry |
| Surcharge | 7% of the duty | Small line, always there |
| Inspection levy | ~1% of FOB (CISS) | A 4% FCS levy has been reported in newer assessments — have your clearing agent confirm which regime applies to your entry |
| ECOWAS ETLS levy | 0.5% of CIF | — |
| VAT | 7.5% on CIF + duty + levies | Calculated on the full stack |
Two planning consequences. First, the effective burden on a machinery consignment lands well above the headline 5% — run your own numbers in our landed cost estimator with the duty field set for Nigeria. Second, because several charges key off FOB and CIF values, a clean, consistent invoice pack is a tax document, not admin.
The paperwork spine: Form M → PAAR
Nigeria prices your clearance before the ship arrives. The Form M is opened through your bank before shipment; Customs issues the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) against it. Get the machine description, HS classification and value right on the Form M, because inconsistencies come back as PAAR queries with your containers already incurring demurrage. Where a consignment includes regulated products, SON's certification documents ride the same electronic rails — CISH coordinates the sequence and timing as part of delivery; the certification itself belongs to the accredited bodies.
The platform: B'Odogwu, honestly
Customs is migrating clearance onto its own B'Odogwu e-clearance platform, and the 2025–26 transition has been bumpy: document-transmission failures disrupted PAAR processing and left real backlogs at the terminals. As of August 2026 the headline glitches were reported fixed and the backlog clearing, with Customs publicly committed to the rollout. Our operating assumption: the platform is the future, the friction is the present — so we plan clearance buffers into every Nigeria delivery schedule rather than promising best-case days.
The ports: Lagos gravity
Apapa and Tin Can Island carry the overwhelming share of Nigeria's containerised machinery. That concentration means berth and gate congestion are structural facts to schedule around, not surprises — and for some projects, routing via Onne (Port Harcourt) is worth pricing, particularly for eastern-region sites. The inland leg from wharf to factory floor, with a crane truck at site, is part of our delivery scope on Nigerian projects — it is not a detail to improvise after the ship docks.
What CISH does on a Nigeria import
- Before shipment: HS classification, invoice pack discipline, Form M support through your bank, and a factory acceptance test in China so what ships is what was ordered.
- In transit: consolidated sea freight on the channel we already run, marine insurance, and documents moving ahead of the vessel.
- At the port: clearing through experienced Lagos agents with the PAAR already in order, and honest daily communication when the queue is the queue.
- To your floor: inland transport, offloading, positioning — then installation and commissioning as one continuous scope.
Market context, priority lines and local realities are on the Nigeria country page.
What importers ask
Typically 5% for industrial machinery — plus the 7% surcharge on duty, the inspection levy on FOB, the 0.5% ETLS levy, and 7.5% VAT on the whole stack. Budget the aggregate, and confirm the levy regime (CISS vs the reported FCS) with your clearing agent at entry time.
Form M is the bank-processed import declaration opened before shipment; PAAR is the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report Customs issues against it. Clean Form M data — description, HS code, value — is what keeps PAAR from becoming a queue of queries while your containers sit on demurrage.
The rollout continues and Customs says there's no going back. The document-transmission glitches disrupting PAAR were reported fixed in August 2026, with backlogs clearing — but agents still report transition friction, so we build buffers into every Nigeria schedule.
Landing a line in Nigeria?
Tell us the line and the site. We'll come back with a delivery plan that includes the duties, the paperwork sequence and honest port buffers — in writing.