Nigeria's import duty waivers reach ₦34 trillion, Senate seeks records

Nigeria's import duty waivers have amounted to a staggering ₦34 trillion between March 2000 and December 2025, according to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi. Appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance, Adeniyi disclosed that these waivers, issued through Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs), significantly impacted potential government revenue.

Adeniyi explained that approximately 60% of the total waivers were allocated to military hardware procurements, a measure deemed necessary in light of Nigeria's prevailing security challenges. Other significant government-backed waivers included those for the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles, electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs, and food import intervention programs.

Bello Gulmare, representing the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), corroborated the impact on customs revenue, noting that waivers on food imports, particularly rice and maize, had substantially reduced collections. However, he confirmed that all collected revenues were remitted to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as per financial regulations. Gulmare also pointed out that the NCS had not submitted audited financial statements beyond 2019.

In response to these disclosures, the Senate Committee on Finance directed the Customs comptroller-general to submit updated audited financial statements and comprehensive revenue records within one week. Import duty waivers have historically served as a fiscal policy tool for successive Nigerian governments, aimed at supporting strategic economic sectors, reducing the cost of essential imports, and responding to national emergencies.

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IDEC approvals reached about ₦34 trillion in 2025, 60 per cent of which as rightly done by government related to military hardware procurements which attracted duty exemptions because of Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.