The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the suspension of requests for the extension of export proceeds repatriation, reinforcing its commitment to stricter foreign exchange compliance.
In a circular dated January 8, signed by W.J. Kanya, Acting Director of the Trade & Exchange Department, the CBN clarified that it will no longer approve such requests from authorized dealers acting on behalf of exporters.
The move aims to enhance accountability and align with Nigeria's foreign exchange regulations.
The directive applies to both oil and non-oil export proceeds, according to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
The circular, released on Thursday, referenced provisions in the Foreign Exchange Manual Revised Edition (March 2018) to explain the policy shift.
“Under the provision of Memorandum 10A (23a) and Memorandum 10E (20a) of the Foreign Exchange Manual Revised Edition (March 2018) in respect of the repatriation of export proceeds. for Oil and Non-Oil
Exports, all authorized Dealers are to note the following
“With effect from the/date of this circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria will no longer approve requests for extension of repatriation of export proceeds by Authorized Dealers on behalf of their customers
“For the avoidance of doubt, proceeds of oil and non-oil exports are to be repatriated and credited _into the exporters’ export proceeds domiciliary accounts within 180 days and 90 days from the bill of lading date for Non-Oil and Oil & Gas exports respectively,” it read.