How to Import from China to Nigeria

Before you talk to any supplier, confirm that the product can legally enter Nigeria and find out which approvals it needs. The Nigeria Customs Service publishes an import prohibition list, and it is revised from time to time. It has included items such as frozen poultry, bagged cement, used clothing and certain retail-packed foods, among others, so check the current list for your exact product instead of relying on what other traders say. Next, identify the HS code, the tariff classification that determines the import duty and levies. Look it up in the Nigeria Customs Service tariff, which follows the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, and confirm it with a clearing agent, because a wrong code is one of the most common causes of disputes at the port. Then check the regulators. Food, drinks, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and chemicals fall under NAFDAC, which requires product registration or an import permit. Many other manufactured goods, such as electrical items, building materials, toys and tyres, fall under the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and need SONCAP certification. Foreign exchange rules also matter, since the Central Bank of Nigeria sets the conditions for paying overseas suppliers through the banking system and those conditions change. Build your landed cost only after these checks.

Most Nigerian importers find Chinese suppliers through online B2B marketplaces, trade fairs such as the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, referrals from other traders, or sourcing agents based in cities like Guangzhou and Yiwu. Towobo lists suppliers by product category with commercial details such as minimum order quantities, lead times, certifications and payment terms, and buyers can request quotes at no cost, which makes it a practical place to compare several suppliers side by side. Whatever the channel, vet the company before money moves. Ask for the business licence and confirm that the company name on it matches the name on the proforma invoice and the beneficiary name on the bank account. Establish whether you are dealing with a manufacturer or a trading company, since both can be good partners but their pricing and control over production differ. Ask for product certifications and test reports relevant to your category, photos or video of the production line, and references from buyers in Africa. Be wary of prices far below the rest of the market, pressure to pay quickly, requests to pay into a personal account or an account in an unrelated company's name, and last-minute changes of bank details sent by email.

Never place a bulk order on the strength of photographs. Order a sample, pay for it and the courier cost, and test it the way your customers will use it. If the product is regulated, the sample also lets you confirm labelling and documentation requirements early. Once you are satisfied, write the specification down in detail: materials, dimensions, colours, voltage and plug type for electrical goods, packaging, carton markings, labelling language and any mark or registration number that must appear. Put the specification, quantity, unit price, Incoterm, payment terms, production time, inspection rights and the remedy for defects into a purchase order or contract that both sides sign, and make sure the proforma invoice reflects it exactly, because the proforma is the document your bank will use for Form M. For larger orders, arrange a pre-shipment inspection by a third-party inspection company or a trusted agent, who checks quantity, workmanship and packing against your specification before the balance is paid. Keep an approved sample yourself so that there is a reference if quality is later disputed.

Chinese suppliers quote on Incoterms, and the term decides who pays for what and where risk passes to you. Under EXW, ex works, you collect from the factory and bear every cost and risk from there, which only suits buyers with a capable freight forwarder in China. Under FOB, free on board, the supplier delivers the goods on board the vessel at a named Chinese port and handles export clearance, and you arrange and pay the main freight and insurance. Under CIF, cost, insurance and freight, the supplier also books the freight and minimum insurance to the Nigerian port, which looks simpler but gives you less control over the shipping line and the destination charges. Note that Nigerian rules have long required insurance on imports to be placed with an insurer registered in Nigeria, and banks ask for that insurance certificate when processing Form M, so confirm the position with your bank before agreeing CIF. On payment, a bank telegraphic transfer with a deposit and the balance before shipment is common, and it leaves you exposed if the supplier fails, so use it with vetted suppliers and an inspection. A letter of credit shifts risk to the banks but costs more and suits larger orders. Marketplace escrow services offer a middle route. Avoid informal money transfer channels for business payments.

Sea freight is the default for volume. A full container load, or FCL, gives you a sealed container of your own and the lowest cost per unit if you can fill it. Less than container load, or LCL, lets you share a container and pay by volume, which suits smaller orders, though it involves more handling and the container cannot be released until every consignee's paperwork is in order. Air freight is charged by weight and volume and is used for light, high-value or urgent goods such as phones, accessories and samples. Many small Nigerian importers use cargo consolidators, often called groupage or door-to-door agents, who collect goods in China, ship them under their own documents and hand them over in Nigeria for an all-in charge per kilogram or per cubic metre. This is convenient, but understand what you are giving up: the import documents are in the consolidator's name, not yours, you have little recourse if goods are lost, delayed or seized, and you cannot show your own import history later. Whichever route you choose, get quotations in writing from more than one forwarder, ask exactly what the quote includes at destination, and do not plan cash flow around a promised arrival date.

A formal import into Nigeria starts with Form M, the mandatory import declaration, which you open through an authorised dealer bank on the government's electronic trade platform before the goods are shipped. To open it you need a registered business, a Tax Identification Number, a proforma invoice, an insurance certificate and any regulatory approval the product requires. For SON-regulated products that approval is a SONCAP product certificate, arranged with the supplier through an inspection firm accredited by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, followed by a SONCAP certificate for each shipment. For NAFDAC-regulated products it is the NAFDAC registration or import permit. After shipment the supplier sends the final documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and the combined certificate of value and origin. Your bank submits these, and the Nigeria Customs Service issues the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report, or PAAR, which sets out the classification and value that customs will use to assess duty. Every detail on the final documents should match the Form M. The PAAR is then used by your clearing agent to make the customs declaration.

Clearing is done through a customs agent licensed by the Nigeria Customs Service. Choose one by referral, confirm the licence, agree the professional fee in writing, and ask for official receipts for every statutory payment made on your behalf. The agent lodges the declaration using the PAAR, you pay the assessed duty and levies through a bank, customs examines the goods physically or by scanner, and other agencies such as SON and NAFDAC give their release where the product falls under them. The shipping line and the terminal operator then release the container once their own charges are settled. Delay is what makes imports expensive. Shipping lines allow a limited number of free days, after which demurrage accrues on the container, and terminals charge storage for every extra day the cargo sits in the port. The usual causes are a Form M opened late, documents that do not match, a disputed HS code or value, a missing SONCAP certificate or NAFDAC permit, and late arrival of original documents. Send draft documents to your agent before the vessel sails, have funds for duty ready before arrival, and check the Nigeria Customs Service tariff and current Central Bank of Nigeria rules at the time you ship, not the last time you shipped.