Every year, Nigerian importers lose time, money, and sometimes entire shipments — not because of a bad supplier, but because of missing paperwork. Before you send your first payment to a Chinese supplier, there are five documents you need in place. Skip one, and you risk a delayed payment, a held shipment, or worse, a seized consignment at the port.
Here’s the checklist every importer should work through before money leaves their account.
1. Proforma Invoice
This is the first document you’ll need, and it comes directly from your supplier. It should include their company details, a full description of the goods, quantity, unit price, total value, currency, HS code, and country of origin. It must be signed and issued on the supplier’s official letterhead.
You’ll need this early — during negotiations and before your bank can even begin processing your Form M. Without a proper proforma invoice, nothing else in the process can move forward.
2. Form M
Form M is the mandatory statutory document required for all commercial imports into Nigeria. It’s opened through your CBN-licensed commercial bank via the Nigerian trade portal, and it’s what allows your shipment to be officially recognised by Nigerian Customs.
Here’s the part many first-time importers miss: Form M must be opened before your goods leave the country of origin — not after they arrive. If your shipment reaches Nigeria without a valid Form M already in place, Customs will hold it until the situation is regularised, which costs both time and money you didn’t budget for.
3. Marine Insurance Certificate
Every import into Nigeria requires marine cargo insurance, and this is one area where importers often make a costly assumption. The insurance must come from a Nigerian-registered insurance company — a foreign policy, even from a well-known international insurer, will be rejected outright by Nigerian banks and customs.
The policy typically needs to cover 110% of your invoice value, giving you a buffer above the base cost of your goods in case of loss or damage in transit.
4. Product Certificate (for Regulated Goods)
If your product falls under Nigeria’s SONCAP (Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme) regulations, you’ll need a product certificate before any shipment takes place. This certificate confirms that your product type complies with Nigerian Industrial Standards, and it’s a required step before the separate, per-shipment SONCAP Certificate can be issued.
Not every product requires this, but many categories do — and assuming your product is exempt without checking is a common and expensive mistake.
5. Company Registration Documents
Finally, your own business documentation needs to be in order. This typically includes your CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) registration, your Tax Identification Number (TIN), and any other KYC (Know Your Customer) documents your bank requires to process international trade payments.
Without these, your bank simply won’t be able to move forward with your Form M application or your payment, regardless of how ready your supplier-side documents are.
Why This Matters More Than Most Importers Realize
These five documents aren’t just bureaucratic boxes to check — they have to align with each other precisely. A single mismatch between your Form M and your proforma invoice, for example, can trigger a bank query that delays your payment by days. In an industry where timing often determines pricing and production schedules, a few days of delay can quietly cost you real money.
The Takeaway
Before you send a single Naira to your Chinese supplier, take the time to confirm all five documents are accurate, consistent, and in place. It’s a small amount of upfront diligence compared to the cost of a delayed payment, a held shipment, or a seized consignment at the port.
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