To fill out and submit a Form M in Nigeria, you register your business on the Trade Monitoring System with a validated Tax Identification Number, assemble a complete set of supporting documents including a Price Verification Report, and hand the package to your Authorized Dealer Bank to submit electronically to the Nigeria Customs Service before your goods ship. Every physical import into Nigeria needs one, regardless of value or whether foreign exchange is involved.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines The document ties the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Customs Service, and your bank into a single transaction record, and the process moves quickly when the paperwork is clean.
Confirm Your Goods Can Actually Be Imported
Before you spend time on a Form M, check your product against two lists.
The first is the absolute import prohibition list enforced by the Nigeria Customs Service. Goods on this list cannot enter Nigeria at all, and no Form M will be approved for them. It covers items such as frozen poultry, pork and beef, spaghetti and noodles, refined vegetable oils, bagged cement, fruit juice in retail packs, beer and stout, certain common medications including paracetamol tablets, soaps and detergents in retail packs, and used tires. The published schedule is specific down to HS Code ranges, so match it against your exact classification.2Nigeria Customs Service. Import Prohibition List
The second is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s “not valid for forex” list. These items are not banned, but you cannot use the official foreign exchange market to pay for them. Rice, cement, tiles, textiles, furniture, glass and glassware, tomato paste, plastic and rubber products, steel pipes, and iron rods are on this list along with roughly thirty other categories. Importing them is still possible if you source foreign currency outside the CBN window, which changes the economics of the deal.
Prerequisites Before You Apply
Three things must be in place before you can start a Form M.
The first is a Tax Identification Number from the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Your TIN needs to be validated and linked to the Nigeria Customs Service electronic system; without that digital linkage, the trade portal will reject any attempt to initiate an application. Newly issued TINs need time to propagate through the connected databases, so build in a buffer.3Wema Bank. Form M Processing
The second is an account with an Authorized Dealer Bank, a commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to handle foreign exchange and trade transactions. The bank validates your financial capacity, verifies your documents, and transmits the Form M to Customs for final registration.4First Bank of Nigeria. Forms A, M, and Q Every major Nigerian commercial bank offers the service. Responsiveness varies, and importers who clear cargo regularly usually build a relationship with a specific trade desk.
The third is a business profile on the Trade Monitoring System at tradesystem.gov.ng, registered with your TIN or Bank Verification Number.5Trade Monitoring System. Trade Monitoring System This is where trade documents are managed and where your bank interacts with the Customs platform. Sort out any login issues well before a supplier is waiting on payment confirmation.
Documents You Need to Gather
An application succeeds or stalls on the quality of its supporting documents. Missing or inconsistent paperwork is the single most common cause of delay.
Proforma Invoice
The proforma invoice from your supplier is the foundation of the application. The Nigeria Customs Service requires it to show the generic product name and category, the brand name where applicable, the model name or reference number, the quality, grade, specification, capacity, or size, and the quantity and packaging details. It must also state the Free On Board value, meaning the cost of the goods before shipping and insurance.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines Vague product descriptions trigger manual review. The proforma invoice has a validity of three months, so don’t let it expire before filing.
Every line needs an accurate Harmonized System code. Nigeria uses a ten-digit HS code under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, with the first six digits following the international standard and the remaining four specific to the region and country.6Nigeria Customs Service. ECOWAS Common External Tariff A wrong HS code can pull the wrong duty rate or flag your goods as prohibited.
Insurance Certificate
Insurance must be obtained locally from a Nigerian insurance company. The Central Bank of Nigeria requires this under the Insurance Act, and foreign policies do not satisfy it. Any insurance taken overseas is treated as supplementary and cannot be paid for from the official foreign exchange market.7Central Bank of Nigeria. Insurance Cover for Importation into Nigeria Upload a high-resolution digital copy with the policy number and premium clearly legible.
Regulatory Certificates
Manufactured products need a SONCAP Certificate, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program document confirming the goods meet applicable Nigerian Industrial Standards. SONCAP requires pre-shipment testing and verification in the country of supply by an approved accredited firm, and every regulated shipment arriving at a Nigerian port must carry a valid certificate.8Standards Organisation of Nigeria. SONCAP
If your shipment includes drugs, food products, or other regulated items, you need registration from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. NAFDAC’s framework prohibits the importation, sale, or distribution of any drug in Nigeria that has not been registered under the NAFDAC Act.9NAFDAC. Guidelines for Registration of Imported Drug Products in Nigeria This registration is separate from the Form M, with its own submission requirements, laboratory testing, and processing fees. Start it early.
Price Verification Report
Since late 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria has required every Form M application to include a valid Price Verification Report generated through the Price Verification System portal. The PVS benchmarks the declared price of your goods against global market prices. If the price on your proforma invoice falls outside a tolerance band of roughly negative 2.5 percent to positive 2.5 percent of the benchmark, the system rejects it.
To use the system, register on the PVS portal with your TIN, create a Form M entry, enter the details of each item, and generate the report. The output is an XML file you download and provide to your bank alongside the rest of your documentation. Without it, the bank cannot proceed. Note that the PVS is separate from the duty valuation performed by the Nigeria Customs Service, which maintains its own price benchmarks for duty assessment.
How the Submission Works
You do not submit the Form M yourself. Your Authorized Dealer Bank handles the electronic submission on your behalf.
Once you hand over the proforma invoice, insurance certificate, regulatory permits, Price Verification Report, and any other supporting documents, the bank’s trade desk populates the required fields on the electronic platform, attaches scanned copies, and transmits the package. Before it goes out, the bank runs its own validation: financial details on the proforma invoice must match the supporting documents, declared prices must align with the Price Verification Report, and the transaction must comply with foreign exchange regulations. The bank assigns the Form M number prefix at this stage. Goods subject to destination inspection get a “BA” prefix; exempted goods get a “CB” prefix.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines
After the bank clears its checks, the application moves to the Nigeria Customs Service for final registration. Customs officers verify HS codes and declared values against their own benchmarks. Any false or fraudulent misrepresentation at this stage results in delays, impoundment, or seizure of the goods.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines When everything checks out, the system generates a unique Form M number that you reference on all subsequent shipping and clearance documents. Clean applications can move in a day or two. Queries from Customs or the bank’s compliance team can stretch it significantly.
Validity, Extensions, and Amendments
A Form M for general merchandise is valid for 180 days from approval. Capital goods, meaning heavy machinery, industrial equipment, and similar long-lead-time items, get a 365-day window.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines If goods are not shipped before expiration, the Form M is void and cannot be used for clearance.
Your Authorized Dealer Bank can grant a one-time extension: another 180 days for general merchandise, or another 365 days for capital goods.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines File the extension request before the original expiration date. Applying after it lapses means starting over. Anything beyond that one-time extension needs direct approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is not routine.
Minor amendments to quantity or value can be processed through the bank electronically, provided the nature of the goods stays the same. Significant changes, such as a different product category, a different supplier, or a drastically different value, generally require a new Form M.
What Happens After Approval: The PAAR
Approval of the Form M is not the last step before your goods clear customs. Once the shipment is on its way, you need a Pre-Arrival Assessment Report, or PAAR. Customs generates it based on the final shipping documents, and it determines the duties and taxes owed on the consignment.
Your supplier sends the final shipping documents, meaning the commercial invoice, packing list, and transport document (bill of lading, airway bill, or road waybill), directly to your Authorized Dealer Bank by courier.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines The bank completes the electronic PAAR consignment form on the Nigeria Customs platform and uploads scanned copies. Customs reviews the submission, verifies values and HS codes, and may adjust any figures it considers under-declared. Once processed, the PAAR goes to both the bank and the importer.
With the PAAR issued, collect the endorsed documents from your bank and pass them to your customs broker or clearing agent for physical clearance at the port. All imports must also carry a Combined Certificate of Value and Origin stating the Form M number, an adequate description of the goods, the specific port of destination, and the shipment identification details.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines
English Labeling Requirement
All goods imported into Nigeria must be labeled in English, in addition to any other language on the packaging. Products without English labeling are subject to automatic confiscation.1Nigeria Customs Service. Guidelines This covers cartons, individual product labels, and instructional materials. If you source from a country where the manufacturer’s labeling is in another language, coordinate English labels before shipping. Relabeling at the port is not an option once Customs flags the cargo.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
The consequences of importing without proper documentation are heavy. Under the Customs and Excise Management Act, goods landed without payment of applicable duties, imported contrary to a prohibition, concealed on board a vessel, or found not to correspond with the entry made for them are subject to outright forfeiture.10Nigeria Trade Information Portal. Customs and Excise Management Act – Section 46 The government takes the goods, and the importer loses both the cargo and the money paid for it.
Personal liability goes further. Any person who lands goods with unpaid duties, imports goods contrary to a prohibition, or causes goods to be entered that do not match the declaration, when done with intent to evade duties or prohibitions, faces up to five years in prison without the option of a fine.11Nigeria Trade Information Portal. Customs and Excise Management Act – Section 47 The same sentence applies to importing goods concealed in a container holding items of a different description, or causing goods to be entered that do not match what was declared. These are criminal penalties that fall on individuals, not just on corporate entities.