SONCAP for IT Hardware Imports Into Nigeria: PC1, PC2 and PC3 Explained
If you are shipping switches, servers, laptops or UPS units into Nigeria, you need two certificates, not one. A Product Certificate (PC) is issued to the exporter before the goods leave, and it opens the Central Bank of Nigeria Form M. A SONCAP Certificate (SC) is then issued to the importer, and it lets the Nigeria Customs Service issue a Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) and release the consignment. PC1, PC2 and PC3 are not grades of quality. They are registration statuses, and which applies depends on how often you ship, not on what the equipment is.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) describes SONCAP as "an offshore and pre-shipment certification scheme", with verification and testing carried out at the country of supply. For a Dubai supplier, that single sentence sets the whole timeline: the inspection happens in the UAE before the container loads, not in Lagos after it lands. Every figure below was read from SON's own SONCAP pages on 22 September 2026.
What each certificate actually does
SON is explicit about who holds what. The PC "is issued to the exporter, as only his details are stated on the certificate" and opens the CBN Form M. The SC "is issued to an importer, whose details are stated on the SONCAP certificate" and processes the PAAR. Two parties, two documents, two stages of the same shipment.
SON sets out the order of work in seven steps: activate a Federal Inland Revenue Service Tax Identification Number on the trade portal at trade.gov.ng, process the PC through an accredited firm, open the CBN Form M and attach the PC, process the SC through the same firm, apply for the Customs PAAR and attach the SC, process the Single Goods Declaration, then notify SON Port and Border Operations. Skip a step and the next one has nothing to attach to.
PC1, PC2 and PC3, and what they cost
| Certificate | Status | Validity | Use | SON fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC1 | Unregistered | 6 months | Single use | USD 500 |
| PC2 | Registered | 12 months | Multiple use | USD 1,000 |
| PC3 | Licensed | 12 months | Multiple use | USD 2,000 |
| SC | Per consignment | One PAAR | Single use | USD 350 |
SON also publishes the smaller charges: USD 350 to add a new product, USD 100 to amend a certificate, USD 350 for a Non-Conformity Report, and USD 10 per month of validity per model for an additional model added to the same certificate under the same test report. Plan around that last line on a mixed order, because a rack build is rarely one model.
Cotecna, one of the firms appointed to run the scheme, describes the unregistered route in practical terms: physical inspection of the shipment, samples drawn by the inspector or under supervision, and test reports accepted from laboratories accredited to ISO 17025. For a full container load it also supervises loading and seals the container. Every PC1 shipment gets inspected, every time.
For a company buying two access switches and a UPS once a year, PC1 at USD 500 is the honest answer and six months of single use validity is enough. PC2 and PC3 repay their higher fees only if you ship the same models repeatedly, because the certificate then covers twelve months rather than one container.
IT consignments fail on paperwork, not on the hardware
The equipment usually passes. The documents are what break. SON lists why a PAAR activation gets rejected, and three of the four reasons are mismatches: the HS code and number of items on the PC differ from what is declared at PAAR stage, more items are declared than the PC approved, or the declared value exceeds the value approved on the PC. The fourth is a missing or wrongly formatted document, naming the Form M, final invoice and bill of lading.
Map that onto how hardware orders behave. A 24 port switch goes out of stock and the 48 port model is offered instead. A UPS is superseded by its replacement part number. Two spare transceivers get added at packing. Each is a sensible commercial decision and each breaks the match between the PC and the declaration. Our note on lead times and stock reality for enterprise hardware in the UAE explains why substitutions are so common on this class of kit.
The working rule is to freeze the bill of materials at PC stage and treat any part number change as a USD 100 amendment with its own processing time, not a packing detail to sort out later. That starts with reading a hardware quotation line by line.
Shipping from Dubai means the inspection happens in the UAE
Because conformity assessment happens at the country of supply, a consignment leaving Jebel Ali is inspected in the UAE before it sails. SON states that the firms "are free to operate in every area of their competence and at any location in the world", so there is no territorial restriction, but there is a scheduling problem: the inspection has to fit between goods being ready and the vessel cut off.
Test reports are the other UAE side item. SON states that testing is governed by ISO 17025 for laboratory organisation, staff qualifications, equipment, calibration and test methods. A CE mark on a carton and a manufacturer datasheet are not test reports. Ask for the report, per model, before the booking is made. Saudi buyers face a similar demand under a different scheme, covered in SABER and SASO conformity for IT hardware.
Confirm the accredited firm list before you pay anyone
On 22 September 2026, two pages on son.gov.ng carried different lists of the eight Independent Accredited Firms. The SONCAP FAQ names Africa Standards and Certifications, Alberk QA Technic, Bureau Veritas, China Certification and Inspection Group, China Hanson Inspection and Certification, China Standards Inspection, Cotecna Verification Services Nigeria and Intersip Quality Solutions. The SONCAP services page directory instead lists Africa Standards and Certifications, China Certification and Inspection Group, China Standard Inspection, Cotecna, Gari Legas Global Services, Helmsman Quality and Technology Services, Intership Quality Solutions and Intertek GTS International Nigeria. Five names appear on both. Three on each side do not appear on the other.
The same two pages also count the scheme differently, the FAQ describing four mandatory processes and the services page two. None of this means a named firm is illegitimate. It means the published lists move, and a certificate from a firm that is not currently appointed is money spent on nothing. Confirm the appointment with the SONCAP division or on the portal at soncap.son.gov.ng before you engage.
What happens if the order of operations goes wrong
SON answers this plainly. You cannot apply for SONCAP after the consignment has left the country of origin. What applies then is the SONCAP Default, "charged at 20% CIF of the consignment or 2 million Naira, whichever is higher". On a CIF value of USD 60,000 that is USD 12,000, on goods that may have been compliant all along. Regulated products arriving without a SONCAP certificate are also "subject to detention, testing, and possible destruction at the expense of the importer".
Two smaller rules catch people out. Certificates are issued against a Tax Identification Number and are not transferable, and the TIN cannot be changed on an account or on an activated certificate. The registered email and phone number cannot be changed either, and SON says it cannot assist a client who has lost access to that email. Register with the entity that will actually import, using an address the company controls rather than one person's inbox.
Used and refurbished equipment sits under a different rule
SON exempts "used products, other than automobiles" from the offshore SONCAP scheme, but adds two qualifications that matter. Refurbished and re-engineered commercial articles must process an Import Permit, and exemption from offshore SONCAP "does not translate to some of these articles not being regulated by SON". So a pallet of used business laptops does not simply travel on lighter paperwork.
A second agency is involved. The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency publishes a Used Electrical and Electronic Equipment permit covering the handling, import and export of UEEE, with a processing fee of NGN 15,000, applications acknowledged within seven working days, and annual renewal through its NESPAM portal. Budget for it rather than discovering it at the port.
Six questions to settle before the container is booked
- What is the HS code for each line, and does the model number match the rating plate rather than the marketing name?
- Is there a dated ISO 17025 test report for every model, in the supplier's possession now?
- Is the exporter named on the proforma the same legal entity that will appear on the PC?
- When will the accredited firm inspect at the load port, and does that date clear the vessel cut off?
- Do the final invoice values sit at or below the PC values, given that a higher declared value is a named PAAR rejection reason?
- Who has authority to approve a part number substitution after the PC is issued, and who pays the USD 100 amendment fee?
Codeeo Tech supplies the hardware side of this from Dubai Silicon Oasis, carrying Cisco, HPE, Dell EMC, Lenovo, APC and Supermicro. Every item on the store is quoted rather than priced, so model numbers and documentation are settled at quotation stage. Send your list through the contact page, or browse the catalogue. The certification is yours to arrange with an accredited firm, but the paperwork it depends on starts with the quotation.
Cover photo: Container Crane Lyttelton. (12807777564), via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
