Economy
FX: Customers to Return Unutilized PTA/BTA Within 2 Weeks
By Dipo Olowookere
Customers who approached commercial banks for the purchase of foreign exchange (FX) at cheaper rates especially for personal travel allowance/business travel allowance (PTA/BTA) would have to return any unutilised forex.
This message was conveyed to forex customers by one of the deposit money banks (DMBs) operating in the country, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc.
In an emailed notice to customers, which was seen by Business Post, the lender said in a situation an international passenger buys $4,000 for PTA or $5,000 (BTA) in a quarter and this was not used probably because the trip was cancelled or the purpose for the purchase was not achieved, the allocation should be returned to the bank within two weeks.
“Customers are required to return purchased PTA/BTA to their bank within two weeks from the date of purchase if not utilized for the intended purpose or if for any reason the scheduled trip is cancelled,” a part of the message noted.
Another part of the disclosure stated that customers can only apply for PTA/BTA once in a quarter and that “requests are limited to a maximum of $4,000 and $5,000 per quarter per applicant respectively.”
The bank further said forex will not be allotted to a third party as it would “only be sold directly to applicants who shall be Nigerians who are 18 years and above and have a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN).”
Furthermore, UBA stressed that FX would only be given to customers for legitimate travel purposes only, advising them to “always have a clear intention and legitimate purpose to travel. You are required to provide a valid Nigerian passport and a valid visa to an international destination.”
It emphasised that only valid travel documents would be processed and accepted and that customers must have a travel ticket “to an international destination outside of West Africa and Cameroon.”
“You are required to provide an international return ticket, with a travel date not more than 14 days from the date of PTA/BTA purchase,” the statement stated.
The bank, however, warned that “False application and use of fake documents to purchase PTA/BTA is strictly prohibited and is a financial crime punishable under the applicable laws in Nigeria.
“Defaulters of this FX policy may face sanctions that include being barred from accessing FX from the official FX market in the future, restrictions on their bank account(s) for such periods as may be determined by CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) as well as possible criminal prosecution.”
“Please note that UBA is committed to partnering with the CBN to ensure a transparent, efficient and stable FX Market that meets the needs of all legitimate users,” the lender said.
The lender said it was taking this step in line with the CBN’s “policy to improve access to FX for legitimate transactions,” noting that “as our valued customer, you have a role to play to ensure the success and integrity of the policy.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
