Key points
- Federal Government-approved import duty exemptions reached about N34 trillion in 2025.
- About 60% of the exemptions covered military hardware imports amid Nigeria’s security challenges.
- Nigeria Customs generated N4.5 trillion by June 2026 against its N11.04 trillion full-year revenue target.
Main Story
Nigeria’s import duty exemptions climbed to about N34 trillion in 2025, widening pressure on Customs revenue as the Federal Government deployed fiscal waivers to support defence, healthcare, manufacturing and energy-related imports.
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, disclosed the figure on Monday during an investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja.
According to Adeniyi, government fiscal policies remain a major factor shaping Customs’ revenue performance, with exemptions and other policy interventions limiting the amount the service can collect from imports.
The Customs chief said the NCS could have generated significantly more revenue in previous years without government-approved duty waivers.
One of the major fiscal measures affecting collections is the Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) framework, which allows qualifying imports to receive duty relief.
Adeniyi disclosed that IDEC approvals reached about N34 trillion in 2025, with roughly 60% linked to military hardware procurement.
Other exemptions covered Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) equipment, electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare supplies, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and government food import interventions.
The disclosure comes as Nigeria faces mounting pressure to increase non-oil revenue and fund rising public expenditure.
The Issues
Nigeria faces a difficult fiscal trade-off between maximising government revenue and using tax and duty incentives to achieve broader economic objectives.
Import duty exemptions can reduce immediate Customs collections, but they are often deployed to lower investment costs, stimulate manufacturing and improve access to essential goods.
The major concern is whether beneficiaries actually deliver the economic outcomes used to justify the waivers.
For example, exemptions on industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs are expected to support domestic production, while healthcare waivers should improve access to medical equipment and supplies.
Similarly, CNG-related exemptions form part of efforts to encourage alternative energy use and reduce pressure from high petrol costs.
Without effective monitoring, however, Nigeria risks sacrificing significant government revenue without achieving lower consumer prices, increased production or improved public services.
Customs’ N34 trillion disclosure could therefore intensify scrutiny of the scale, beneficiaries and economic impact of Nigeria’s duty exemption regime.
What’s Being Said
Adeniyi said about 60% of the N34 trillion in IDEC approvals was connected to military equipment imports.
“IDEC approvals reached about N34tn in 2025, 60 per cent of which was rightly granted by the government for military hardware procurement, which attracted duty exemptions because of Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
“Other government-backed waivers included the 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.
The Customs chief, however, cautioned against assessing fiscal incentives purely from a revenue perspective.
He argued that duty exemptions could support wider social and economic objectives but urged the government to track beneficiaries and measure results.
According to him, the government must determine whether the waivers translate into lower prices, increased industrial output and improved healthcare access.
More Insights
Customs generated N4.5 trillion as of June 30, 2026, against its N11.04 trillion revenue target for the year.
This leaves the service with roughly N6.54 trillion to collect in the second half of 2026 if it is to meet its full-year target.
The Senate hearing also exposed disagreements over alleged unremitted operating surpluses by government agencies.
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission alleged that Customs had an outstanding N8.9 billion liability linked to unremitted operating surplus as of 2019.
Customs officials rejected the claim.
The commission also alleged that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) owed N13.9 billion in operating surplus covering 2023 to 2025.
CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji said the commission had been gradually settling its outstanding obligations.
The Senate Committee on Finance subsequently directed the CAC, Fiscal Responsibility Commission and committee secretariat to reconcile their records and establish the exact outstanding amount.
What You Should Know
Import duty exemptions are fiscal incentives that allow approved goods and equipment to enter Nigeria without the full Customs duties that would ordinarily apply.
The government can deploy such incentives to support strategic sectors or respond to specific economic and social challenges.
However, Nigeria’s growing revenue needs have placed tax waivers and duty exemptions under increased scrutiny.
The Senate has intensified its oversight of revenue-generating agencies as the government seeks to improve non-oil income and strengthen remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The scale of the 2025 IDEC approvals is particularly significant when compared with Customs’ revenue targets, highlighting the enormous value of imports covered by government-backed exemptions.
What’s Next
The Senate Committee on Finance is expected to continue scrutinising the impact of duty waivers on Nigeria’s revenue position.
Lawmakers are also pushing for greater accountability among revenue-generating agencies and stronger compliance with operating surplus remittance requirements.
The committee has given the CAC and Fiscal Responsibility Commission two weeks to reconcile disputed outstanding liabilities.
Heads of the NCAA, ITF, SMEDAN, Federal Medical Centre Jabi and other agencies that failed to attend the hearing have also been warned to appear at the next sitting or risk Senate sanctions.
Attention will increasingly turn to whether the Federal Government strengthens its monitoring of import duty waiver beneficiaries and publicly measures the economic benefits of the incentives.
Bottom Line
Nigeria waived import duties on about N34 trillion worth of approved imports in 2025, underscoring the enormous fiscal cost of government incentives.
While the exemptions support defence, healthcare, manufacturing and energy policies, the bigger question is whether Nigeria is receiving measurable economic value for the revenue it gives up.
With Customs chasing an N11.04 trillion revenue target in 2026, stronger scrutiny of duty waivers may become unavoidable.
