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Certificates, contracts, academic and immigration paperwork. Nothing to value, nothing on the prohibition list, and the most predictable thing we book to Nigeria.
Nigeria travels on a DTDC air waybill through DTDC's overseas network, priced per consignment rather than off a card, because no international card exists for us to publish. Nigeria also maintains an import prohibition list that catches ordinary, well-meant parcels — and that, rather than price, is what most of this page is about.
Nigeria publishes an import prohibition list, and unlike most destinations it contains things people genuinely try to send. Used clothing is prohibited — which surprises almost everyone, because a box of good second-hand clothes for family is exactly the sort of parcel that feels obviously harmless. It is not allowed in, and we will not book it. Several categories of packaged food and beverage are also on the list.
NAFDAC — the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control — regulates food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices entering Nigeria. Prescription tablets in original labelled packaging, in a personal quantity, with a copy of the prescription, are the sensible case. Anything that looks like stock for sale needs NAFDAC registration, and a courier parcel is not the way to discover that.
If the shipment is commercial, Nigeria’s conformity assessment programme (SONCAP, run by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria) requires a certificate for regulated product categories, obtained before shipment. Commercial imports are also typically processed through a Nigerian bank on a Form M. None of that is something we can arrange from Bangalore — the importer does it — but knowing it exists before you ship is worth a great deal.
Import duty is charged by tariff line and VAT is 7.5%, both assessed on arrival and paid by the recipient. Clearance timelines in Nigeria are genuinely variable and are not something any carrier can commit to, so we do not print a transit figure for this route.
Declare accurately and itemise. Under-declaring value to reduce duty is the most reliable way to have a Nigerian consignment held, revalued and delayed.
Sending clothes to family? Call first — 9164995001 — because new or used decides whether the parcel is legal to send at all.
Certificates, contracts, academic and immigration paperwork. Nothing to value, nothing on the prohibition list, and the most predictable thing we book to Nigeria.
Samples and components to Nigerian companies. Give us the importer's full company details and check whether the product category needs a SONCAP certificate before the goods leave — after arrival is the expensive time to find out.
New clothing, books, sealed dry food in personal quantities. The one thing to get right is that the clothes must be new: used clothing is prohibited on import, however good its condition.
Per consignment, once you tell us what is in the box — which for Nigeria we need to know in any case, because the contents decide whether it can be sent at all.
No. Used clothing sits on Nigeria's import prohibition list, and we will not book it whatever its condition. New clothing in original packaging is fine and is what we send instead.
Prescription tablets in original labelled packaging, in a personal quantity, with a copy of the prescription in the box and the contents declared on the invoice. Quantities that look like stock fall under NAFDAC registration and should not travel by courier.
Import duty at the tariff rate for the goods plus 7.5% VAT, assessed on arrival. We cannot pre-pay it from Bangalore and will not estimate it — the figure turns on classification and declared value.
We do not publish a transit time for Nigeria. Clearance there varies widely and no carrier controls it, so a number on this page would be a promise we could not keep. You get a realistic expectation at booking instead.
Tell us the state, the weight and exactly what is in the box — we will tell you straight away whether it can go.