Olayiwola Matthew
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), on Monday, started the grounding of over 60 private jets flying in the country airspace over alleged non-payment of import duty, NigeriaTodayTimes reports.
Reports said that in 2024, the NCS had attempted to ground some of the private jets but court processes stalled the action.
The NCS had, in October 2024, threatened to ground over 60 private jets owned by very important persons in the country over unpaid import duty.
It, however, halted the process by announcing the extension of the verification exercise for private jet owners by one month, from October 14, 2024, to November 14, 2024.
It was gathered that the aircraft were grounded at the International Wings of the Murtala Muhammed Airport and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja.
It was further gathered that a majority of the affected aircraft were foreign registered flying in the country.
A report by a popular newspaper said that the Customs also sealed off some of the foreign private jets at ExecuJet, a free trade zone at the Lagos airport.
A source close to some of the private jet owners, said that the impounded aircraft belonged to private individuals in Nigeria operating under the Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) licence.
This permit is granted to individuals who want to own and operate aircraft for personal use and not for commercial purposes.
The official seal of the NCS stated that the exercise was in accordance with Section 221 of the NCS Act 2023, stressing that unauthorised removal of the seal attracts a fine of N100 million or 10 years imprisonment of both.
The report said that this was not the first time the Customs would attempt to ground private jets in the country because of import duty.