Import duty exemptions rose to N34trn in 2025—Customs

The comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, says the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals for imported goods and equipment rose to N34 trillion in 2025.

Speaking during the committee’s investigative session with revenue-generating agencies on Monday, Mr Adeniyi said government policies had, at different times, affected the customs’ revenue-generating capacity both positively and negatively.

According to him, customs would have generated significantly more revenue over the years if not for certain government policies and other external factors that constrained its operations.

He identified the import duty exemption certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, as one of the major policies affecting customs revenue.

“IDEC approvals reached about N34 trillion in 2025, with about 60 per cent granted for military hardware procurement due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.

“Other government-backed waivers covered the importation of compressed natural gas, electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes,” he said.

Mr Adeniyi, however, stressed that fiscal policy should be assessed not solely from the perspective of revenue generation but also from its broader economic and social impact.

He urged the government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to assess whether beneficiaries of duty waivers were achieving the intended outcomes, including lower prices, increased production, and improved access to healthcare.

Mr Adeniyi disclosed that out of the N11.04 trillion revenue target for 2026, the NCS had generated N4.5 trillion as of June 30, leaving about N7 trillion to meet its annual target.

Bello Gulmare, representing the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, alleged that the NCS had an outstanding liability of N8.9 billion in an unremitted operating surplus to the consolidated revenue fund as of 2019.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Finance threatened to impose sanctions on the heads of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, and others for failing to appear before it.

The committee, chaired by Sani Musa, directed the Corporate Affairs Commission, the FRC and the committee to reconcile the figures to determine the actual outstanding balance.

“We expect a detailed report on the outcome of the reconciliation meeting within the next two weeks, before another interface with the CAC.

The heads of agencies such as the NCAA, ITF and SMEDAN, who failed to appear physically at today’s session, must make themselves available at the next sitting or risk severe sanctions under the relevant provisions of our rules,” Mr Musa said. NAN