Route A: Unregistered or Unlicensed Products

Every consignment will go through 2 steps in order to be compliant with the import requirements of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

1. Product Certificate (Unregistered) - PC(U)

The PC(U) is valid for only one shipment and it has a validity of 6 months from the date of PC(U) issuance. The PC(U) is a mandatory document for obtaining a SONCAP Certificate (SC) and it is also needed to pre-declare the import in Nigeria (opening of the Form M).

Requirements for a PC(U):

• Physical inspection of the shipment by Cotecna
• Sample testing:
  • Samples are drawn by Cotecna during the inspection of the shipment or under Cotecna supervision as per applicable standards.
  • Acceptance of Test Reports as long as they are issued by an accredited ISO 17025 laboratory or an approved laboratory as per Cotecna/SON’s procedures.

Result: Cotecna will issue a PC(U), upon successful inspection and sample testing results.

2. SONCAP Certificate Issuance

The SONCAP Certificate (SC) is valid only for one particular shipment. It is a mandatory document for Customs clearance. In order to obtain a SC, you must:

• Complete and send the Request for Certification (RFC) form
• Have all the goods of the shipment covered by one or more valid Product Certificates.
• Have Cotecna complete the loading supervision of Full Container Loads (FCL)
• Have Cotecna seal the FCL container(s)
• Send final documents to Cotecna

Result: Cotecna will deliver a SONCAP Certificate (SC) upon compliance with above requirements. In the event of non-compliance with the testing and/or inspection requirements, Cotecna shall issue a Non Conformity Report (NCR).

Request a SONCAP Certificate

To learn more about the SONCAP programme, or to get a certificate for your exports, please send us a request.