Manufacturer's Certificates of Production for Nigeria

Virtually all Nigerian Letters of Credit now require Manufacturer's Certificates of Production as part of the documentary presentations. These Certificates need to be issued by the manufacturer of the item being shipped and not only have to detail out the processes and regulations under which the goods have been manufactured, e.g. electrical regulations, but also must be in accordance with the Letter of Credit conditions.

This is not a problem when the shipper of the goods has a line of communication with the manufacturer to obtain these documents nor when the manufacturer has internal systems set up to produce such documentation. The challenge comes when the shipper is trying to get such Certificates from the manufacturer when they don't have direct lines of communication, or when the manufacturer just cannot produce the certificates or when it is impossible to get such certificates, because the goods are second-hand, for example.

Short of producing the Certificates themselves (which is illegal), the shipper is seriously stuck, because even if they decide to ship the goods and submit discrepant documents, the Nigerian Bank is not allowed to pay until the Manufacturer's Certificates of Production are sent to them. One way (suggested by FBN) around this problem is to ask the Issuing Bank to allow for Suppliers Certificates of Production, but this is very rarely granted. The result, unfortunately, is that an increasing number of shippers are refusing Nigerian Letters of Credit because they cannot supply these Certificates without reverting to forgery.

One can only hope that these numbers become so great that the Nigerian Government will realise that this documentary requirement is causing problems and will come up with some alternatives that take into consideration the extent of globalization today.