The value of import duty waivers granted on military hardware, healthcare supplies, manufacturing inputs, food commodities, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and other items rose to ₦34 trillion between March 2000 and December 2025.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance during an investigative hearing at the National Assembly.
Mr Adeniyi said the waivers, granted through Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs), significantly reduced the revenue the Service could have generated for the government
“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.
“Other government-backed waivers, included
Importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs and food import intervention programmes”, he said.
Also speaking at the hearing, Bello Gulmare, who represented the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), said waivers granted on food imports, particularly rice and maize, had substantially reduced Customs revenue.
Mr Gulmare, a deputy director in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation at the commission, however, noted that all revenues collected by the NCS were remitted directly into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in line with existing financial regulations.
He further informed lawmakers that the Customs Service had not submitted audited financial statements beyond 2019.
Following the disclosure, the committee directed the Customs comptroller-general to submit updated audited financial statements and comprehensive revenue records within one week.
Import duty waivers have long been used by successive Nigerian governments as a fiscal policy tool to support strategic sectors of the economy, reduce the cost of essential imports and respond to national emergencies. The waivers, granted through Import Duty Exemption Certificates, allow approved individuals, companies and government agencies to import specified goods without paying the applicable customs duties.
Over the years, administrations have extended such incentives to sectors considered critical to economic growth, including agriculture, manufacturing, power, healthcare, transportation and national security.
For instance, the federal government has at various times granted duty exemptions on agricultural equipment, fertilisers, pharmaceutical products, power generation equipment and raw materials for local industries.
More recently, the Tinubu administration approved duty waivers for the importation of food commodities to curb rising food prices, as well as for CNG, electric and hybrid vehicles to support its energy transition agenda.
Supporters of the policy argue that import duty waivers help lower production costs, attract investment, enhance food security, promote industrialisation and reduce the prices of critical goods and services. The government has also relied on waivers to facilitate the procurement of military hardware amid growing security challenges.
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However, the policy has faced persistent criticism from economists, fiscal watchdogs and lawmakers. Critics argue that extensive waivers reduce government revenue at a time when Nigeria faces mounting fiscal pressures, including high debt-servicing obligations and infrastructure deficits. There are also concerns about transparency in the approval process, with some stakeholders alleging that waivers are sometimes abused or granted to politically connected individuals and companies without adequate monitoring.
The disclosure that import duty waivers reached about ₦34 trillion by the end of 2025 is likely to reignite debates over the balance between using tax incentives to stimulate economic activities and protecting government revenues needed to fund public services and development projects.
Other scrutiny
The hearing also placed the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under scrutiny after the Fiscal Responsibility Commission disclosed that the agency had an outstanding unremitted revenue of more than ₦13.9 billion covering the period between 2023 and 2025.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, acknowledged the liability and assured the lawmakers that the commission had commenced the gradual payment of the outstanding amount.
