The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, on Monday disclosed that the value of Import Duty Exemption Certificate approvals granted by the Federal Government on selected imported goods and equipment rose to N34tn in 2025, warning that such fiscal incentives have significantly reduced the service’s revenue-generating capacity.

Adeniyi made the disclosure during an investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja.

At the same session, the committee threatened to invoke sanctions against the heads of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, the Industrial Training Fund, the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, and other agencies for failing to honour its invitation.

Addressing lawmakers, the Customs boss said that government fiscal policies often directly affect the agency’s revenue performance, either positively or negatively.

He said although the Nigeria Customs Service remained one of the country’s leading revenue-generating agencies, it could have recorded higher collections over the years if not for government-approved duty waivers and other policy interventions.

According to him, one of the major factors affecting Customs revenue is the Import Duty Exemption Certificate policy introduced in March 2020.

He said, “IDEC approvals reached about ₦34 trillion in 2025, 60 per cent of which was rightly done by the 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.”

The Customs boss, however, argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on revenue generation, saying that duty waivers also serve broader economic and social objectives.

He, nevertheless, urged the Federal Government to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of the waivers deliver the expected outcomes, including lower prices, increased industrial production and improved access to healthcare.

Earlier in his presentation, Adeniyi told the committee that the Customs Service had generated N4.5tn as of June 30 from its N11.04tn revenue target for 2026, leaving about N7tn to be realised before the end of the fiscal year.

The hearing also exposed disagreements over alleged non-remittance of operating surpluses by some government agencies.

Representing the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Deputy Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Bello Gulmare, alleged that the Nigeria Customs Service had an outstanding liability of N8.9bn arising from non-remittance of operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund as of 2019.

The claim was, however, rejected by Customs officials. Similarly, the commission alleged that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed N13.9bn in unremitted operating surplus covering the period from 2023 to 2025.

Reacting, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, said the agency had been settling the outstanding obligations gradually.

Following the submissions, the Senate Committee on Finance directed the CAC, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the committee’s secretariat to reconcile their records and determine the exact outstanding balance.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), said the reconciliation exercise should be concluded within two weeks ahead of another interface with the commission.

He said, “A detailed report on the outcome of the planned meeting should be ready within the next two weeks for another interface with CAC.

“Heads of agencies like NCAA, ITF, SMEDAN, FMC Jabi and others who failed to physically attend today’s session should unfailingly make themselves available at the next sitting or risk severe sanction through invocation of the relevant section of our rules against them.”

The Senate has in recent months intensified oversight of revenue-generating agencies as part of efforts to improve government earnings, enforce compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and ensure proper remittance of operating surpluses into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The Finance Committee has also been scrutinising the impact of tax waivers and import duty exemptions on the country’s revenue profile amid growing pressure to expand non-oil revenue. (The PUNCH)

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