Nigeria lost ₦1.3trn to Buhari’s tax waiver grated to Dangote, Lafarge, Honeywell, 43 others—Customs

Nigeria Customs Service has said that at least 46 companies had benefitted from various tax incentives and duty waiver schemes granted by Buhari led federal government. It said that as of the end of 2021 Dangote, Lafarge, Honeywell and 43 others got various waivers. Customs Service, (NCS) said that Nigeria lost about ₦1.3 trillion in 2023 due to the actions of the Buhari-led administration which gave concessions and tax waivers to investors. This fact was disclosed by Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General (CG) of the NCS during a public hearing on the 2024–2026 medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy organised by the senate joint committees at the National Assembly. The Customs boss who was represented by Mba Musa,Deputy Comptroller General of the NCS, said that without the waivers and tax concessions granted to some investors, the service would have generated more income for Nigeria’s consolidated revenue fund in 2023. 

According to the 2022-2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, in 2019, tax waivers of ₦213.1 billion was recorded and taxes worth ₦779.7 billion waived in 2020. The amount increased to ₦16.76 trillion from 2019 to 2021 according to the Tax Expenditure Statement (TES) reports in the Medium-Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy documents.  Over the years, the Buhari administration granted series of tax waivers to investors and importers. In 2020, the Buhari-led administration granted import waivers to importers of medical equipments during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Presidency then, had said that the waivers were part of the fiscal policy measures introduced by the Nigerian government to combat the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within January 2019 and December 2020, the FG through the NCS, granted waivers on imported goods worth ₦992.9 billion. 

According to the 2022-2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, in 2019, tax waivers of ₦213.1 billion was recorded and taxes worth ₦779.7 billion waived in 2020. The amount increased to ₦16.76 trillion from 2019 to 2021 according to the Tax Expenditure Statement (TES) reports in the Medium-Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy documents. “By now we shouldn’t be talking about concession for cement manufacturers, we should not even be talking about sugar importation, We should not deny ourselves the revenues that we should generate to make our economy vibrant.” Sani Musa said The Senate, while agreeing that the NCS should have met their projected target in the absence of waivers, also noted that the waivers would be reviewed and the necessary recommendations made.