CBN Set To Bar Exporters Over Unrepatriated Proceeds As Deadline Ends Today
Nigerian exporters who have failed to repatriate their export proceeds are at risk of being barred from accessing banking services in Nigeria as the deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria ends Today, January 31.
The value of the proceeds according to the apex bank was worth $26.13m as of October 2, last year.
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This is based on a circular seen by THE WHISTLER directing banks to bar defaulters from accessing all banking services in the country at the elapse of the grace period.
Based on the circular dated 13 January 2021, the apex bank said the grace period was up to January 31.
This is three months up from the October 31, 2020 deadline earlier directed by the regulator in a circular dated October 2, 2020.
Announcing the extension last year, the CBN said, “We write to inform you that after reviewing responses received at the expiration of the grace on 31 October 2020, an additional grace period has been approved extending the deadline to 31 January 2021.”
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Consequently, the bank mandated financial institutions to request their customers to repatriate the proceeds before the date or face the apex bank sanction.
“You are by this letter mandated to request your customers with outstanding export proceeds to repatriate, failing which the customer would be barred from accessing all financial service in line with the provision of the circular with Ref No. TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/013 dated 26 October, 2017,” it said.
The apex bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting which held last Tuesday insisted that the bank would continue with the sanction as stated in the circular it had issued.
Emefiele said, “The Central Bank will not tolerate it if you conduct an export activity and you keep the dollar abroad.
“It is by law mandatory that you must repatriate those proceeds into Nigeria. If you refuse to, the Central Bank has the power to by law prevent you from conducting banking activity in the Nigerian banking industry and we will do so.”
