End-to-end logistics to Nigeria on the West Africa lane.
In Nigeria the transport is the easy part. What stops consignments is SONCAP, the conformity assessment programme of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, which consists of two separate certificates — one for the exporter, one for the importer — and interlocks with the central bank’s Form M. Skip the sequence and the consequence is defined: detention of the goods and a penalty of 20 per cent of CIF value or two million naira, whichever is higher.
The order of documents is not negotiable, because each one is a precondition for the next:
The PC unlocks financing; the SC unlocks clearance. Both are mandatory and they are not interchangeable. It is the most common error among companies approaching the Nigerian market for the first time.
| Category | SONCAP | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured goods generally | Required | Electrotechnical, mechanical, construction materials, industrial chemicals |
| Food products | Excluded | Subject to health controls of a different nature |
| Medicines and medical supplies | Excluded | Separate authorisation regime |
| Raw materials for manufacturers | Excluded | Only for entities recognised as bona fide manufacturers |
| Used products | Excluded | Vehicles are the exception |
An exclusion has to be documented, not merely asserted. An importer claiming manufacturer status to bring raw materials in without SONCAP must be able to prove it at customs.
Port congestion in Lagos is a real variable and belongs in any delivery date you promise. We state it in our quotations rather than calculating transit on the best case.
It is the conformity assessment programme of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria: an offshore, pre-shipment check on regulated products destined for the Nigerian market. Without the required documents the goods are not released at the port.
The Product Certificate is issued to the exporter, attests product conformity and is needed to open the Form M. The SONCAP Certificate is issued to the importer for a single shipment and is used to clear customs. Both are required and neither substitutes for the other.
It is the Central Bank of Nigeria document authorising the foreign currency transaction linked to an import. The bank will only process it with a valid Product Certificate attached.
Broadly, food products, medicines and medical supplies, raw materials destined for recognised manufacturers, and used products with the exception of vehicles. The exclusion must still be documented at customs.
The goods may be detained and, where provided for, destroyed at the importer’s expense, together with a penalty of 20 per cent of CIF value or two million naira, whichever is higher.
No, it covers what was actually certified. A variant with different technical specifications requires reassessment and, where necessary, a new certificate. That check belongs before loading.
Apapa and Tin Can Island in Lagos, Onne and Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, and Calabar are the main commercial ports. The choice follows the final inland destination and congestion in the period.
Pickup location, port or city of destination, tariff code, dimensions, weight and number of packages, nature of the goods and the Incoterms rule. Tell us as well whether the Product Certificate has been obtained: it affects the timeline more than the transport does.
We look at the document sequence before we quote. Send us the product, the tariff code and the destination, and we will tell you whether SONCAP applies, in what order the documents must be issued, and where time is lost if that order breaks.
Container (FCL/LCL) and project cargo shipments.\r\nAir
Share your pickup point and cargo details and we will come back shortly with a clear quote.