SONCAP and used engines: what Nigeria actually requires
Used engines are exempt from SONCAP as published: the programme regulates new parts, and its exemption list excludes used products other than automobiles. Half the suppliers quoting Lagos will still tell you otherwise — here is what actually applies.
Wholesale onlyRegular orders are one full container — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft, or with gearboxes 45 + 45 / 65 + 65. New customers can make their first purchase from 10 engines (10, 20, 30 or 40), with gearboxes and consolidated shipping, at list price, with no first-order surcharge (LCL freight quoted separately): first-order offer. A second order can start from 45 engines, also at list price. We do not sell single units.
More modelsBeyond the models on this page we hold many more — 488 engine and gearbox families in our warehouse list, always subject to inventory changes. Tell us how many units you need so we can give you the best price: full stock list.
What SONCAP is
SONCAP is the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme. For regulated products it requires two documents before shipment: a Product Certificate, which approves the product itself, and a SONCAP Certificate issued per consignment. Both come from accredited international firms, and Nigerian customs expects them at clearance for goods that fall under the programme.
That is the part most exporters can recite. The part that matters for this trade is which goods fall under the programme — and which do not.
The exemption most suppliers get wrong
The programme's published exemption list excludes used products other than automobiles. A used engine is a used product, not a vehicle, so under the rules as published it does not require SONCAP certification. New spare parts, on the other hand, are regulated — which is exactly where the confusion comes from. A supplier who ships new parts and used engines in the same business often applies the new-parts rulebook to everything.
One caveat sits inside the exemption itself: refurbished or re-engineered commercial articles are treated differently and may require an import permit. An engine that has been remanufactured and is sold as such is not the same declaration as a used engine sold as used.
What Nigerian imports still require
The SONCAP exemption does not make the lane paperwork-free. A Nigerian import still runs through Form M, opened through the importer's bank before the goods ship, and the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report issued by Nigeria Customs against the shipping documents. Duty and levies apply under the relevant HS headings — 8407 for petrol engines, 8408 for diesel.
These are the importer's processes, not the supplier's, but they fail on the supplier's paperwork: a commercial invoice that does not match the Form M description, or an HS code that disagrees with the packing list, costs time at Apapa that no certificate would have saved.
Rules change — treat this page accordingly
Everything above reflects the programme as published. Nigerian import policy is revised often and enforcement at the port has its own texture, so the sequence that works is: confirm the current position with your clearing agent before the container is booked, then tell us what your agent needs, and the origin documents are prepared to match.
What this page should change is the conversation you have with that agent — you are asking them to confirm an exemption, not to price a certificate you may not need.
What is prepared from our side
An ENGICOR container ships with a commercial invoice, a packing list listing engine models and quantities against the order photo file (Engine 1, Engine 2…), a certificate of origin and a bill of lading, declared plainly as used engines under the correct HS headings. These are coordinated with the logistics company that has its office at the Guangzhou warehouse. If your agent's reading of the current rules requires anything further at origin, we coordinate it before the container sails rather than argue about it after arrival.
Sources
- SON — SONCAP
- ENGICOR prices and terms: our own published list, recorded monthly in the used engine price index.
Price a container yourself
Build the mix you want in the online quoter — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft, or 45 + 45 / 65 + 65 with gearboxes — and the FOB total reaches your inbox the same minute, at our published per-unit prices, every engine Grade A. Prefer to ask? Tell us the destination country and the models you need and we reply within one business day, usually within hours.
New customer? Your first order can start with 10, 20, 30 or 40 engines, with gearboxes and consolidated shipping available — first purchase only, at list price, with no first-order surcharge. See the first-order offer →
Frequently asked
So I will never need a SONCAP certificate for used engines?
As published, used products other than automobiles are exempt from SONCAP — but 'never' is a strong word in Nigerian import policy. Confirm the current position with your clearing agent before each order; the rules change more often than the summaries of them do.
Do new spare parts in the same container change anything?
Yes. New parts are regulated products and bring the SONCAP requirement with them. We supply used engines and used gearboxes only; if your plans involve new parts, tell your agent, because the documentation is not the same.
Who handles Form M and PAAR?
Your side. Both are importer processes run through your bank and Nigeria Customs. Our job is origin documents that match your declaration exactly.