Most first-time importers budget for the product price and shipping, and get blindsided by everything that gets added at the border. Duty is just one part of it — by the time VAT and other applicable charges are added, the real cost can be significantly higher than what was quoted for the goods themselves. This is one reason many Nigerian import businesses struggle after their first few shipments. A business owner may calculate: “My goods cost ₦20 million and shipping is ₦3 million, so my total cost is ₦23 million.” Then the clearing process begins, and additional charges appear — import duty, import VAT, levies, and other customs-related costs. The biggest issue is that many importers do not understand what determines these charges in the first place. The answer usually starts with one thing: the HS code . Why did my duty cost more than I expected? Import duty in Nigeria is not calculated simply because a product is “electronics,” “clothing,” “machine parts,” or “pac...