The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Thursday night, announced the introduction a foreign exchange (FX) price verification system (PVS) portal to facilitate access for importers.
According to the CBN a price verification report from the portal is now mandatory for all Form M requests, starting from August 31, 2023.
Form M is a mandatory statutory document to be completed by all importers for importation of goods into Nigeria.
“Following the successful conduct of the pilot run and various trainings held with all the banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria hereby announces the Go- Live of the Price Verification System (PVS),” the statement reads.
“All applications for Forms M shall be accompanied by a valid price verification report generated from the price verification portal.
“For the avoidance of doubt, by this circular, the price verification report has become a mandatory trade document precedent to the completion of a Form M.”
“All authorised dealers are, hereby, advised to bring this to the attention of their customers”.
The CBN further says infraction to the rule will be sanctioned.
In June 2023, the CBN announced the unification of all segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market, signalling the end of its control of the forex market.
Since the decision — which was in compliance with the federal government’s directive — the exchange rate of the local currency has been experiencing significant volatility as market forces continue to determine prices.
Last week, the naira fell to an all-time low of N950 to the dollar at the parallel market, before recovering to N890 at the black market of the FX market.
The recovery came after the CBN said it would implement new measures to stabilise the naira against the dollar.
While it is unclear if the PVS portal is part of the said measures; on Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, secured a $3 billion emergency crude repayment loan to support the naira and stabilise the FX market.
