Citing “global inflation and other related challenges,” the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reviewed the allowable limit of price deviation for exports and imports on its Price Verification System (PVS) portal to -15 per cent and +15 per cent of the global average prices, respectively.

The apex bank announced this in a circular posted on its website yesterday. According to the circular, “the PVS is not meant to determine the actual prices of items for tariffs or duty charged by government but rather to enable the CBN curtail the excess outflow of the limited foreign exchange through over-invoicing and other price manipulation activities.”

New Telegraph reports that in unveiling the PVS portal in August, the CBN had stated that declared prices of import items that are more than 2.5 per cent above the global average prices of the referenced item will be queried.

It had also stated that “all applications for Forms M shall be accompanied by a valid price verification report generated from the price verification portal. “For the avoidance of doubt, by this circular, the price verification report has become a mandatory trade document precedent to the completion of a Form M.”