Overview
For shipping companies, cargo owners and maritime operators, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is no longer only a question of freight rates, port dues, terminal charges or maritime levies. The tax treatment of freight-related income has become a direct compliance and transaction issue. Under the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 (“NTA”), a non-resident person engaged in transport by sea or air may be chargeable to tax in Nigeria where a ship or aircraft owned, leased or chartered by it calls at a Nigerian port and profits arise from the carriage of passengers, mails, livestock or goods shipped from, or loaded into an aircraft or ship, in Nigeria.
Although the statutory provision applies to both shipping and air transport, this article focuses on the maritime implications. Freight tax compliance is no longer a back-office matter for tax teams alone. It now affects documentation, port access, regulatory approvals, contract allocation of tax risk, shipping agency processes and the timing of cargo movement.
