The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Customs Service is set to ground over 60 private jets owned by prominent individuals due to unpaid import duties amounting to billions of naira.
It is reported that the enforcement action by the Nigerian Customs Service will begin on Monday, according to The Punch.
This follows communications between the Customs Service and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency regarding the grounding of private jets due to unpaid import duties.
Reports suggest that many private jets in Nigeria have not had their import duties paid, prompting the Nigerian Customs Service to pursue the recovery of these unpaid duties, which amount to several billions of naira.
The development reportedly led the NCS to carry out a one-month verification exercise on all private jet owners in the country between June and July.
The recent decision to ground the jets follows this verification, occurring nearly three months later, as part of efforts to address unpaid import duties.
According to the documentation, private jets belonging to some top business moguls, including chairmen and top executives of some banks would be stopped from flying.
Top private jet owners affected by the decision have been officially notified by the Nigerian Customs Service.
Most of the impacted planes are foreign-registered jets owned by Nigerians, highlighting the focus on compliance with import duty regulations.
Some of the luxury aircraft on the list are: Bombardier Challenger 604 CL-600-2B16, Bombardier Challenger 3500, Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000, Bombardier BD-700 Global 6500, Bombardier BD-700 Global 7500. Each of the Bombardier BD-700 Global 7500 are estimated to cost over$70m, while the Global 6500 and 6000 version cost over $50m.
The situation has prompted some private jet operators to start settling their unpaid import duties, with several promising to make payments this week.
Notably, the operators of a U.S.-registered Gulfstream G650ER jet owned by a prominent Nigerian bank have reportedly paid N5.3 billion in duties to avoid the enforcement action.
The NCS had successfully recovered duties during a similar exercise in 2019.
Current letters indicate that private jets owned by prominent individuals and corporate entities will be grounded until outstanding duties are paid. This enforcement action is expected to generate significant revenue for the government.
