.

is because you used express shipping and is very expensive

That's why I make use of mallforafrica

pointstores:
is because you used express shipping and is very expensive

It wasn't expedited. It was normal international shipping, I was just lucky that it coincided with the next cargo dispatch if not it'd have taken at least 9 days to get to Nigeria.

kolnel:
That's why I make use of mallforafrica

But I doubt if mallforafrica has a wide array of electronics at good rates. I use them only for clothes and at times, perfumes.

zayidhs:
Hello everyone, I need some help understanding what's going on.

I purchased a phone and accessories from eBay and Amazon a few weeks ago. Being that the phone seller ( from eBay) doesn't ship to Nigeria and is located in the states, I decided to send all the goods (both from eBay & Amazon) to a relative's house in the states.

I later created a shipping label (paid with my debit card) via FedEx and included all the items, their weights & value and mailed to my relatives. FedEx collected the items and everything was weighed, audited, packaged and sealed in the box then sent to Nigeria.

It took the package four (4) days to get to Lagos but since then, it has been showing "processing in progress". Contacted FedEx's partners in Nigeria (Redstar Express) who later sent me an import charge of 37+ thousand to be paid into their account. They later sent a new mail telling me not to pay as there is a mistake in evaluation that I should wait till today for Custom's actual charges.

I got a mail a few hours ago that the amount should be 57+ thousand!!! . I complained but was advised to write a complaint to Customs Area Controller, Hajj & Cargo Services MMIA via Redstar. Then a review will be made by Customs which might be positive or otherwise.


So, I actually went to Custom website and checked the charges. 
Phones have two categories;
ID - Import Duty
1. The first which has 10% for ID + 5% for VAT = 15%

2. The second has 20% for ID + 5% for VAT = 25%

Knowing Nigerians and their attitude, I used the higher value (2nd) to calculate the duty charges. 

The value of the goods were attached by me on the shipping label which culminated to $463 - no item was undervalued.

I see no reason I should be charged above 25% (almost 40%) for importing personal effects under the category of phones and accessories.

I believe that FedEx/Redstar as my transporter/importer are tasked with protecting my interest and they should already have a template for Custom duties and charges.

There is no way the charge should exceed 40,000 naira even if wrongly converted at 400 naira per dollar.

I explained the above to the Redstar contact and sent screenshots of all the items I purchased with the prices as I paid via eBay and Amazon apps purchase & order history.

Now he said he'll request for custom charge draft on my package and forward to me. I'm still waiting for him.

Advice on way forward please. Also, if you know the charges to be correct let me know.


Thanks and sorry for the long writeup.

I am having the same problem. I ordered some goods worth 44k from China, paid FedEx 37k to ship them only to be told by some fedex staff to pay 27k duty. 27k duty on goods worth 44k. I requested for a copy of the assessment they got from customs but they have not sent any and it is almost 3 days now. Please AVOID FEDEX.

CoolDude2012:


I am having the same problem. I ordered some goods worth 44k from China, paid FedEx 37k to ship them only to be told by some fedex staff to pay 27k duty. 27k duty on goods worth 44k. I requested for a copy of the assessment they got from customs but they have not sent any and it is almost 3 days now. Please AVOID FEDEX.

I think anything I purchase in the future, I'll do as I used to in the past, ie I'll let the seller send to me (I'll just pay the extra for expedited shipping), though as I said, the issue was that the sellers didn't ship to Nigeria - only one of six did.

The Customs draft aka SSD was sent to me, I sent it to a close friend who is a Customs officer working in MMIA. He deduced from it that the mistake came from the Custom duty charges. Custom sent Redstar a duty charge of 51+ thousand while NAHCO has a charge of 1+ thousand and another 5+ thousand by Redstar/FedEx for accessing Customs payment portal aka ASYCUDA =57+ thousand.

Problem is the Custom draft (SSD) was overshot, he said I can only appeal which can take weeks or months, require time , money, calls, reach out to contacts to intercede etc. Add to the fact that if I don't clear the goods by 29th August a little matter of demmorrage; gets into play just like cars/containers and will be confiscated to Customs warehouse. Then I'll pay the new reduced duty (if my appeal is accepted else I'll have to pay the old 57+ thousand), write a new appeal for release of my goods from the warehouse, pay the charges for rent (extra days it spent after demmorrage) and get my things a few days later.

He said if it were a car or container or goods with Custom duty of hundreds of thousands or millions then he'll suggest I appealed since I'll only expend just a fraction of the charges I want to be removed but in my case, the difference is about 25k and I'll spend at least 2-3 times that amount in appealing (the calls, contacts, effort & getting the demmorraged goods back) which isn't worth it.

Bottom line "Custom raped me but I can't do anything other than cook them a meal & give them a bath. Unless I want to be raped more".


So, he advised that I should just pay rather than appeal as the printout has already been made and the money is expected by revenue unit. I had no choice but to pay as he told me the disadvantages of appealing. I paid on Wednesday and the items are in transit to arrive today.

Best workaround is to cheat (since Customs are also cheating us) by undervaluing the items. Like I could have set mine to $250 instead of $463 to get charges of about 35+ thousand. The only disadvantage is if the goods get damaged, stolen, or lost, you'll not be given the proper compensation.