Allegations of regulatory evasion, especially with regard to foreign-registered aircraft imported into Nigeria under Temporary Import Permit (TIP), have plagued the private charter aviation industry for years.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which is tasked with regulating air operations, and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which is responsible for collecting import tariffs, are at odds and at the center of the controversy. Under the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), Customs requires that tax payments be made strictly, but NCAA regulations have given operators some operational flexibility. In order to circumvent compliance, operators have turned the resulting gray area into a haven for abuse.
Law Concerning Temporary Importation
According to Section 12 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 2004, importers are permitted to enter Nigeria under “temporary admission” as long as the commodities are converted to “home use” or reexported within a certain time frame with the relevant duty paid. According to the legislation, import duties are due if the goods—in this case, an airplane—remain in Nigeria after the predetermined amount of time.
Customs procedures have generally permitted temporary admittance for aircraft for a maximum of 12 months, which can be extended in increments of 6 months but cannot be extended for more than 2 years. Once import duty has been paid, the aircraft must either be exported or regularized for “home use.”
Nonetheless, this legislation has been repeatedly broken in Nigeria’s aviation industry. Since 2008, some aircraft that should have been regularized or re-exported have stayed in the nation and continued to operate in the lucrative charter industry without paying customs duties.
The Position of the NCAA
Conversely, in certain circumstances, foreign-registered aircraft may operate under NCAA’s Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs 2015, Part 18, Section 18.3.4), as long as they are in compliance with NCAA’s operational control and possess valid certifications of airworthiness. This has provided operators with a legitimate excuse to fly foreign-registered aircraft inside Nigeria without having to deal with the customs issue.
The discrepancy between NCAA allowing foreign-registered operations and Customs requiring import duties has created an opening that is ready for abuse. According to operators, Customs’ demand is “double taxation” because they already pay NCAA fees for landing, parking, and air navigation.
The CEO of TopBrass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi, provides a viewpoint that compromises both viewpoints. “An operator or aircraft owner pays the NCAA or other agencies for services,” he clarified. Import duty is what Customs is requesting. Aircraft import duties are paid independently from roadworthiness or license payments, just like when you import a car. The law is on Customs’ side.
While some operators were first granted a respite when Customs sealed their aircraft, Iyayi disclosed that not all of them have fulfilled their commitments to regularize.
Temporary entry is permitted for a period of two years. The majority of them you are referring to have been in the nation since 2008. They are aware of the game they are playing. Some even filed a lawsuit to overrule Customs, arguing that they were exempt due to ICAO conventions. Commercial aviation, not private aviation, is the focus of ICAO. Those arguments were deemed unfounded by the courts.
AC. “If privately owned aircraft are imported on temporary admission, there is a stipulated period for them to remain in the country,” explained NCS National Public Relations Officer Abdullahi Maiwada, outlining the agency’s position. After that, duty must be paid for their conversion to domestic use or reexport. If you import your aircraft on temporary admission and then return it after ninety days, there won’t be any issues. You have to regularize, though, if you stay too long. The law is that.
Maiwada emphasized that investigations are still being conducted even though Customs does not maintain an accurate public count of planes that have been overstayed.
He explained that the problem was “a result of trying to find out how many aircraft have overstayed without regularization.”
A former commander of Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd.), stated that the problem is indicative of Nigeria’s poor regulatory alignment.
“It’s like bringing in a foreign-registered vehicle you intend to keep here if you bring in a foreign-registered aircraft that is operating in Nigeria,” he said, pointing to obvious shortcomings. It needs to be exported or re-registered after a certain amount of time. The current situation, in which foreign-registered aircraft have been operating locally for years without re-registration, is unlawful and irregular.
Political influence, according to Ojikutu, is distorting the enforcement process: “These things were not happening before.” Why are they taking place now? It is against the law to bring in an aircraft that is registered abroad and is domiciled here without being re-registered. The NCAA needs to make a strong statement. In my opinion, it is illegal for foreign-registered aircraft to continue operating on local routes indefinitely.
Actions Taken by Customs Enforcement
Not all the time has Customs been passive. A timeline of enforcement actions highlights how serious the problem is:
NCS announced in June 2024 that it would ground roughly 60 foreign-registered aircraft due to unpaid charges. To confirm, operators were called to Abuja.
Demand notifications were sent out in July 2024, when the exercise was extended to more than 80 aircraft.
August 2024: Customs relaxed the grounding but maintained duty demands following high-level involvement.
According to Customs, 86 operators submitted documentation in June 2025; 57 were cleared, while 29 were liable for duty. A few others did not arrive.
Political meddling and drawn-out talks have slowed definitive action, resulting in spotty enforcement notwithstanding these efforts.
Customs and NCAA: An Uncomfortable Combination
An institutional conflict sits at the heart of this story. An airplane entering Nigeria is treated by Customs as merely an imported item, subject to the Customs and Excise Management Act’s regulations. When it is used for commercial purposes in Nigeria, it is no longer “temporary” in any significant sense and needs to be imported for domestic use with duty paid.
For the NCAA, the plane is essentially an operational issue. Only the NCAA has the authority to determine who is allowed to transport people for pay or employment, and it also grants air operator’s certificates, air transport licenses, and permits for non-commercial flights. According to this viewpoint, a foreign-registered aircraft may transport passengers on charter flights as long as it has the appropriate NCAA permits.
The difference is obvious. The NCAA maintains that it is the only entity that can control whether commercial operations are allowed, while Customs insists on charges for such activity. In between, operators have discovered a lot of room to maneuver.
One aviation specialist stated that safety and operational approval are not the only factors at play. “It concerns economic equity. You cannot have some local operators flying about permanently on temporary permits while others pay import duties in billions. There is no level playing field there.
Making Use of the Grey Areas
The gaps between these two regimes are now easily exploited by operators. Some repeatedly extend their TIPs, therefore converting a short-term measure into a multi-year authorization. Some declare aircraft for demonstration or private use while operating profitable charters in secret. Some rely on NCAA approvals to assert validity even in cases where their Customs documentation is questionable.
On the other hand, charter operators defend themselves. “It’s not that we don’t want to comply,” explained one operator from Lagos who wished to remain anonymous. However, we receive NCAA approvals, the duties are very steep, and the process for complete importation is uncertain. The NCAA and Customs must unify their stances. We are stuck in the midst right now.
The approach is both political and regulatory. In order to stall or slacken enforcement, wealthy owners frequently use attorneys and contacts. Sometimes, Customs has been compelled to negotiate or has had its seizures contested in court, allowing the aircraft to continue operating and making money. For local charter operators that have paid full tariffs, imported aircraft legally, and put up with the registration process, the arrangement appears to be unfair competition.
Keeping Track of the Price
The financial burden is substantial for the federal government. Customs determines charges and taxes at a rate of 12 to 15 percent of the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of aircraft, which are among the most valuable imports. At the present exchange rate, that might be more than $5 million, or almost N8 billion, on a $25 million plane. When you multiply that by dozens of jets, the total easily reaches tens of billions of naira.
Regulatory integrity is another concern that goes beyond revenue. A permit intended for temporary usage allows an airplane to remain on the tarmac in Lagos or Abuja for years, undermining public trust in law enforcement. Safety and redress are other concerns for passengers. Determining who is responsible for an event involving a jet operating on the edge of legality may be more difficult than for an aircraft registered in Niger.
More will be needed to close these gaps than intermittent crackdowns. Customs and the NCAA should work together more closely, according to experts. A memorandum of understanding might specify the exact moment that an aircraft’s use transitions from temporary to commercial, so establishing duty duties. A centralized TIP registry that is available to both agencies would increase openness and stop silent rollovers. Fair and efficient enforcement would be guaranteed via quicker dispute resolution and appropriate penalties.
