The Nigeria Customs Service Board’s introduction of a $300 ‘de minimis’ threshold, which exempts low-value imports from customs duties, has stirred both optimism and concern. While foreign platforms and consumers stand to gain, local e-commerce players may find themselves under pressure as market dynamics shift.
The policy comes at a time when Nigerian households are grappling with financial strain. Headline inflation remains stubbornly high despite recent signs of easing, forcing Nigerians to rethink their spending choices.
Winners
For the average Nigerian contending with inflation of over 20 percent, every naira saved matters. The $300 customs duty-free threshold -approximately N450,000 based on the current exchange rate and allowed once a quarter per shopper – means that many low-value items that used to attract customs duties could now come into the country without tariffs.
Uchenna Uzo, professor of Marketing Management at the Lagos Business School, considers this as good news for middle-to-lower-class shoppers on e-commerce marketplaces who may save some cash.
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“I think that they are going to win because it allows them to be more strategic about their purchasing behaviour. There’s also going to be some savings from buying through that channel, given that customs duties will not be imposed on certain products,” he told BusinessDay.
Nigeria’s e-commerce sector is growing. Modor Intelligence estimates its size at $9.35 billion in 2025 and $16.8 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 12.5 percent.
Foreign e-commerce giants like Temu, Aliexpress and Shein, with vendors in China, India and parts of Europe, have clear advantages. Their heavy discounts already attract the bulk of Nigerian shoppers, who spend an average of $137 on online purchases annually, according to Payments and Commerce Markets Intelligence (PCMI). With the easy procedures, these items are expected to become cheaper.
“The likes of Temu are going to come up with even bigger incentives for people to shop through their channel,” Uzo said. With duty and tax removed for many items under $300, they can lean on volume, discount and logistics strength to win more market share.
Uzo thinks consumers will now become creative about “what they buy, when they buy it, and the pack sizes they choose.”
“Some will stagger their purchases or even engage in group buying. It allows them to be more strategic about their purchasing behaviour, and there’s going to be savings from buying through that channel.”
Ethel Adonu, an online shopper who has spent N400,000 on four purchases this year, told BusinessDay she shopped freely as duties were already factored into the cost of the product.
“You see something you like, you check how long it takes to get to you, and you buy,” she said. With the new policy, she said she might purchase things differently. “This time, I will look at the orders, instead of just ordering on the go. I’ll try to plan it, and maybe gather things I need to buy for a while and buy them once,” she said.
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For international travellers, the new rule comes as a relief. They told BusinessDay that until now, only goods valued below N50,000 were exempted – a threshold that travellers like Muda Yusuf, who runs the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, considered too low.
The new threshold now allows passengers to declare any non-prohibited item bought or retrieved from the departing country under $300 or N450,000 without paying duties.
Losers
While foreign e-commerce players celebrate, local players face a challenge. For local manufacturers advertising on Nigerian ecommerce platforms, thinner margins or increased competition from rivals with lower cross-border costs could render them uncompetitive.
“All the e-commerce businesses that have not been insight-driven enough – who have products that are just not really moving – are going to suffer a lot from this new regulation,” Uzo warned.
Offline retail stores are not spared. Uzo said that if online platforms flood the market with cheaper imports, physical stores might lose traffic or margin.
In contrast, the United States recently scrapped its de minimis policy, which previously allowed goods valued at $800 or less to be imported duty-free to protect American businesses and combat illicit trade.
The government argued that the de minimis policy created an unfair trade advantage for foreign companies, particularly those from China, which shipped low-cost goods to the U.S. without incurring tariffs or undergoing extensive customs procedures.
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Similarly, before the temporary ban, South Africa’s clothing retailers and manufacturers complained that international e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu were using the de minimis rule to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
By splitting larger orders into multiple small, low-value shipments, these companies could pay a much lower flat import duty of 20 percent and avoid the standard 15 percent value-added tax (VAT).
Abdullahi Maiwada, Customs national public relations officer, said restricting the policy to once per quarter per shopper limits this advantage. He also said that Customs will strictly enforce penalties against stakeholders who manipulate invoices, undervalue goods, or attempt to evade duty obligations.
