TheCable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the appointment of Titan Trust Bank as one of the designated banks for the collection of the Nigeria export supervision scheme (NESS) levy. 

This is contained in a circular signed by O.S. Nnaji, director of trade and exchange department at CBN, on Wednesday.

NESS levy is a statutory payment to the federal government, which is charged at 0.50 percent of the export value. The apex bank collects the fees through designated banks on behalf of FG. 

It was designed to ensure that the price, quality, and quantity of goods exported from Nigeria are to the buyer’s specifications, prevent capital flight and ensure competitive advantage in relation to other exporting countries.

The apex bank said the approval was granted by Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning.

“This is to notify all authorised dealers, service providers and the general public that the honourable minister of finance, budget and national planning has approved the appointment of Titan Trust Bank as one of the designated banks for the collection of NESS levy,” the statement reads.

“Authorised dealers are therefore enjoined to bring the information to the attention of their exporting customers.”

Other designated banks assigned to collect NESS fees are Access, Citi, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity, First Bank, GTBank, Keystone, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling, UBA, Union, Unity, Wema, and Zenith.

The CBN granted Titan Trust Bank its national banking licence in April 2019 to operate as a commercial bank.