The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has suspended the extension of approvals for the extension of export proceeds repatriation on behalf of exporters, taking effect from Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
The suspension was announced in a circular dated January 8, 2025, issued on the website of the apex bank on Thursday afternoon and signed by the acting director Trade & Exchange Department, Dr W.J. Kanya.
Titled “Suspension of Extension of Export Proceeds on Behalf of Exporters”, the circular stated that the suspension was in line with the provision of Memorandum 10A (23a) and Memorandum 10B (20a) of the Foreign Exchange Manual Revised Edition (March 2018).
It said, in respect of the repatriation of export proceeds for Oil and Non-Oil Exports, all authorised dealers are to note that “with effect from the date of this circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria will no longer approve requests for extension of repatriation of export proceeds by Authorised Dealers on behalf of their customers.
“For the avoidance of doubt, proceeds of oil and non-oil exports are to be repatriated and credited into the exporters’ export proceeds domiciliary accounts within 180 days and 90 days from the bill of lading date for Non-Oil and Oil & Gas exports respectively.
“Accordingly, all Authorised Dealer Banks are required to draw the attention of their customers to the provision of extant regulation and ensure compliance. Consequently, effective January 8, 2025, the CBN will no longer approve requests by authorised dealer banks to extend the timeframe for the repatriation of export proceeds on behalf of their customers. Thus, exporters must comply with the stipulated timelines for the repatriation of proceeds without relying on extensions,” it pointed out.
