The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, says government-approved import duty waivers valued at thirty-four trillion naira in twenty twenty-five significantly reduced the revenue the Service could have generated.
Adeniyi made the disclosure during an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja.
According to him, the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for the approvals, with about sixty per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware to support Nigeria’s security operations.
He explained that other duty waivers covered imports of compressed natural gas equipment, electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare supplies, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and food intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact on revenue, the Customs Comptroller-General said fiscal policies should not be judged solely by the revenue they generate, but also by their economic and social benefits.
He, however, urged the Federal Government to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of the waivers deliver expected outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved access to healthcare.