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The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Customs Service, will on Monday (today) ground over 60 private jets owned by very important persons in the country over unpaid import duty running into several billions of naira.
There are reports that duties are not being paid on the majority of private jets currently in the country with the NCS seeking to recover unpaid import duties running into 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.
According to documents exchanged between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, which were sighted by The PUNCH on Sunday, the enforcement exercise will commence on October 14th, 2024.
The latest decision to ground the private jets is coming almost three months after the NCS verification exercise.
Meanwhile, the documents sighted on Sunday showed that private jets belonging to some top business moguls, including chairmen and top executives of some banks would be stopped from flying.
Already, top private jet owners, who will be affected by the decision, have been officially notified by the NCS.
According to the documents, the majority of the affected planes are foreign-registered private jets owned by Nigerians.
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.
While 11 private jet owners have received notification of the grounding of their aircraft, it was gathered that no fewer than 55 other operators would get their letters on Monday (today).
This came as it was gathered that some top private jet operators had lobbied the Presidency ahead of the Monday grounding exercise but our correspondent learnt that the Presidency refused to interfere in the process.
The development, it was learnt, had made some operators to begin the process of settling the import duty. Officials said some private jet owners had promise to settle the duty this week.
Top private jet owners in Nigeria have been officially notified by the Nigerian Customs Service about the grounding of their foreign-registered aircraft due to unpaid import duties.
The affected planes include various Bombardier models estimated to cost over $50 million each. While 11 owners have already received notifications, 55 more are expected to be notified today.
Some operators had lobbied the Presidency, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
As a result, some owners have started the process of settling the outstanding duties, with one leading Nigerian bank reportedly paying 5.3 billion Naira.
The Customs had previously recovered duties in a similar exercise in 2019, and this enforcement action is expected to generate significant revenue for the government, despite a few aircraft being flown out of the country.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) estimates that it could generate over N260 billion from an enforcement exercise targeting private jets.
The NCS has written to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency requesting that identified aircraft be denied flight clearances until the required duties are paid or until further instructions from the NCS.
Four of the impounded aircraft are currently in negotiations with Customs, and their owners have agreed to pay the required duties.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency has acknowledged the NCS letter and issued a Notice to Airmen to ground any non-compliant aircraft starting from October 14, 2024, until cleared by the NCS.
The Comptroller General of the NCS stated that some private jet operators are leaving the country to evade the verification exercise.
