The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, said yesterday the federal government has reduced the import tariffs on used vehicles from 15 per cent to five per cent on brand-new vehicles from 20 per cent to 10 per cent for new vehicles.

Adeniyi spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise to defend the service’s 2026 budget proposal.

The Customs DG said the revised excise tariffs on vehicles were contained in the 2026 fiscal policy measures.

He said while the new policy was expected to improve revenue generation, the reduction in vehicle tariffs could negatively impact collections.

Adeniyi said: “We have the new excise tariff, which is provided in the 2026 fiscal policy. We believe that these measures will increase our revenue collection.

“Conversely, tariffs on vehicles and levies on vehicles have been reduced significantly. For used vehicles, it has been reduced from 15 percent to five percent, and for brand-new vehicles, the tariffs have been reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent. So we believe that this is something that may also negatively affect revenue.”

Alex Mascot, a lawmaker from Abia, questioned whether the reduction would be enough to discourage importers from routing cargo through neighbouring countries.

“If five percent has been reduced from the fee that is paid when you import goods into the country, why then do people still move their goods to Cotonou? I am aware that a lot of importers are discouraged from bringing their goods into the country because of the high tariffs.”

Responding, Adeniyi said the policy implementation began in May.

Leke Abejide, chairman of the committee, described the tariff review as a relief for Nigerians.

“So, I want the general public to know that the Nigerian government is doing something good for the public,” he said.

“People have been clamouring for this, and it has happened. So, we should clap for the federal government. We should commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for doing this for the public.”

The comptroller-general said the service generated N7.258 trillion between January and December 2025, exceeding its approved revenue target.

According to him, the performance represented a positive variance of N1.153 trillion (18.89 percent) above the approved target for the year.

He said the performance was achieved despite several factors that constrained revenue generation, including the suspension of excise duty on telecommunications services, the continued suspension of the proposed green tax introduced in 2023, and government fiscal policies promoting local production of healthcare products, which reduced import duty and VAT collections on medical imports.

He also cited the presidential initiative on compressed natural gas, CNG, and electric vehicles, which reduced revenue from imports, as well as the high volume of imports covered by import duty exemption certificates, IDEC, VAT orders and schedule II of the common external tariff, CET.

Adeniyi said imports worth N34.538 trillion qualified for revenue concessions in 2025, comprising 56.40 percent petroleum products, 40.52 percent military imports, and 3.08 percent IDEC and other items.

The Customs boss added that global trade disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine war also affected imports, particularly wheat shipments from the region.

Adeniyi told lawmakers that the NCS has a revenue target of N11.074 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year.

He said the target comprises N5.542 trillion for the federation, N1.491 trillion for non-federation revenue, N2.773 trillion from import VAT and N1.266 trillion from free-on-board (FOB) collections.

To achieve the target, he said the service would deploy several strategies, including the full implementation of the unified customs information system (UCIS), also known as B’Odogwu, to automate customs processes and improve revenue collection.

He said other measures include strengthening post-clearance audits and real-time systems audits to improve compliance; expanding the authorised economic operator (AEO) and advance rulings programmes to facilitate trade; deploying geospatial technology and joint border patrols to combat smuggling; and enhancing collaboration with stakeholders.

Adeniyi also said that the new excise tariff regime under the 2026 fiscal policy, the planned reintroduction of the green tax, and other fiscal measures are expected to support revenue generation, despite uncertainties in global trade arising from tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

For the 2026 fiscal year, Adeniyi proposed an expenditure budget of N1.235 trillion, to be funded by N949.86 billion from the four percent FOB allocation, N55.47 billion from its two percent VAT share, and N230.04 billion for ongoing capital projects.

Adeniyi added that the proposed expenditure would cover N421.70 billion for personnel costs, N307.77 billion for overheads and N565.93 billion for capital projects. (Vanguard, but headline rejigged)

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