This is a detailed guide on the current official cost of clearing cars in Nigeria.
Lately, cars are now being manufactured in Nigeria, but it is yet to be on a large scale.
The present rate of manufacturing and assembling in Nigeria is not enough to cater to the high population of the country yet.
Therefore, the importation of cars from more developed countries is still on the high in Nigeria, and it is almost the most considered option when you need to get a new car in the country.
One thing you should be aware of about importing a car is that you will be mandated to pay a clearing cost in addition to the normal charges you will expect to pay.
The charges are not fixed, and it is an advantage to know how much you will pay to import your favorite car if you have plans of buying one.
In this post, I have provided in detail the official cost of clearing a car in Nigeria.
You will not only know the current official cost of clearing a car in Nigeria, but you will also know the zonal offices where you can clear your imported car in Nigeria.
This post discusses one of the things you need to know about imported cars in Nigeria.
Table of Contents
What Is The Payment For?
You might be wondering who you will pay this clearing cost to or why you will have to pay the cost.
The money you will pay will be distributed among certain agencies in the country which I will share with you in this section.
The agencies that will receive this payment of yours have various parts to take in the importation of your car.
Below is the purpose of paying the clearing cost in Nigeria.
- A part of the payment is for Clearing charges or the agent fee.
- Payment to the Nigerian Customs
- Payment to the shipping company or airline that will deliver your car to the port or terminal
- Part of the payment will go to the terminal where you will pick up your car from.
This is the main reason why the cost of clearing a car in Nigeria is relatively high.
How the Clearing Costs Are Calculated
Since the payment was implemented, the cost has changed over time and might still change in subsequent years especially with the situation of the economy in the country.
Initially, the cost of clearing cars in Nigeria is by a percentage, and this makes it easy to calculate for anybody.
Car owners get to pay only 22% of the price of their vehicles. I mean whatever a vehicle costs, you will pay 22% of that cost as the owner of the vehicle, and that will be the cost of clearing the car.
This is considered to be relatively cheap if compared to the current rate that has gone up to about 70% of each car cost.
This new percentage comes to be because you will pay a 35% levy and 35% duty.
I wouldn’t like to send you to your calculators in finding exactly how much it will cost to clear your car. Therefore, a comprehensive list of prices has been provided below.
Current Official Cost of Clearing Cars In Nigeria
I have mentioned earlier in this post that the cost of clearing cars in Nigeria used to be 22% of the car’s price. The current official cost of clearing cars however isn’t the same anymore and you will get that in more detail hereafter.
I’ll be providing the current cost of clearing cars in Nigeria in more than one section.
The first section which is the next after this will be in a table format where the first column of the table represents the year of manufacture of cars, the second column has the cost of clearing cars manufactured in the respective years in the first column, and the third column has the cost of clearing SUVs manufactured in each year.
| Year of Manufacture | Clearing Fee for Cars (N) | Clearing fee for SUVs (N) |
| 1999 | 260000 | 400000 |
| 2000 | 280000 | 400000 |
| 2001 | 280000 | 450000 |
| 2002 | 320000 | 450000 |
| 2003 | 330000 | 480000 |
| 2004 | 350000 | 480000 |
| 2005 | 400000 | 500000 |
| 2006 | 410000 | 550000 |
| 2007 | 500000 | 570000 |
| 2008 | 600000 | 600000 |
| 2009 | 780000 | 850000 |
| 2010 | 800000 | Subject to negotiations |
| 2011-2015 | Subject to negotiations | Subject to negotiations |
This table is yet to cover every available brand of car, and that is why I am listing more popular cars below against their respective clearing cost in Nigeria.
| Car model | Cost in Naira |
| Acura MDX 2007 | N700,000 |
| Acura MDX 2008 | N850,000 |
| Acura MDX 2009 | N980,000 |
| Acura TSX | N380,000 |
| Benz ML | N450,000 |
| Ford Edge 2007 | N900,000 |
| Ford Focus 2012 | N1,400,000 |
| Hyundai Elantra 2013 – 2016 | N1,300,000 |
| Hyundai Sonata | N350,000 |
| Kia Optima 2012 | N1,200,000 |
| Kia Spectra | N500,000 |
| Land Rover R/Sport 2006 | N1,500,000 |
| Lexus RX 300 | N420,000 |
| Mazda 3 SV | N2,000,000 |
| Mazda 6 2004 | N450,000 |
| Mitsubishi Carisma 2005 | N380,000 |
| Toyota 4 Runner 1994 | N450,000 |
| Toyota Camry 2003 | N270,000 |
| Toyota Camry 2007- 2008 | N600,000 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid 2010 | N1,100,000 |
| Toyota Corolla 2003 | N350,000 |
| Toyota Corolla 2004 | N450,000 |
| Toyota Corolla 2005 | N500,000 |
| Toyota Corolla 2006 | N600,000 |
| Toyota Highlander | N450,000 |
| Toyota Sienna 2004 | N350,000 |
| Toyota Venza 2010 | N1,100,000 |
| Toyota Yaris 2000 | N200,000 |
| Volkswagen buses | N350,000 |
| Volkswagen CC 2011 | N1,200,000 |
| Volkswagen Passat | N380,000 |
There is a possibility that I have omitted some cars, but this is likely to be so minimal, as this post is birthed out of in-depth research.
Where Can You Clear Your Cars In Nigeria?
Now you know the official cost of clearing cars in Nigeria, but you may need information about the zonal offices in Nigeria where you can pay the cost of clearing your car.
You may not need to pay at this office outlined, but you will need to go there to verify your car clearing status.
You will need to pay the customs duty, the port charge, and the clearing agent fee at the port where your car is delivered to.
Although the two major ports where cars are being delivered to in Nigeria are the Apapa port and the Tin Can port, there are four major offices which you can visit for verification and get your cleared status.
The zonal offices that you can visit for verification are listed below:
- Zone A Headquarters, No. 1 Harvey Road, Yaba, Lagos;
- Zone B Headquarters, Kabala Doki, Kaduna;
- Zone C Headquarters, Nigeria Ports Authority, Port Harcourt and;
- Zone D Headquarters, Yelwa Tudu Road, Bauchi State.
On getting to any of the offices mentioned above after you have paid your cost of clearing, your payment will be verified, and your clearance status will be updated.
However, the distance might be a barrier for you to get to any of the offices mentioned above; you can still verify using SMS
How To Verify Payment Via SMS
Getting your verification via SMS is easy and straightforward.
- Let’s just get into how to do it.
Go to your phone SMS app - Type in the message to be sent in this format: C-number, the year you paid your duty, and the port or location through which your car was brought into Nigeria.
- Send the SMS to any of the following numbers: 094621597, 094621598, and 094621599.
- And it should be done in a matter of minutes
But Why Should You Go Through All This?
Do you feel like why should you go through the stress of clearing your car?
I’ll love to tell you that is very vital and important under the constitutional law of Nigeria.
Anyone who disobeys this will have their cars tagged illegally, and they will definitely be arrest when caught and be made to pay fines.
That’s all on the cost of clearing cars in Nigeria.
I hope this article was helpful?
