The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to submit a comprehensive report detailing the import duty waivers valued at about ₦34 trillion granted in 2025.
Lawmakers requested that the report include the identities of all beneficiaries, the legal justification for each waiver, as well as the economic objectives the concessions were designed to achieve.
The directive was issued on Wednesday when the management of the Nigeria Customs Service appeared before the committee as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing oversight of revenue-generating agencies and the implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act.
Speaking during the session, the Chairman of the committee and member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos State, James Faleke, clarified that the House was not opposed to the Federal Government’s policy of granting import duty waivers.
However, he stressed that the process must remain transparent, accountable and open to legislative scrutiny.
According to Faleke, lawmakers intend to determine whether the waivers fulfilled the economic purposes for which they were granted and whether all approvals complied with the relevant legal framework.
He said, “Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant a waiver. But we want to know those who benefited from the waiver and the purpose of such a waiver. It is okay if you grant a waiver on medical and agricultural products.
“If you grant a waiver, it is aimed at helping the economy to grow. For example, if you grant a waiver on agricultural products, it is aimed at reducing the cost of food. So, we are not against the waiver. But we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34tn waiver.”
Import duty waivers are fiscal incentives approved by the Federal Government to exempt selected imports from customs duties, particularly in sectors considered strategic to national development such as agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and infrastructure.
Although governments have defended the policy as an economic intervention tool, concerns have continued to trail the programme over issues relating to transparency, abuse and revenue losses.
The committee also questioned the Nigeria Customs Service over what it described as inconsistencies in its revenue presentation despite the agency consistently exceeding its annual revenue targets.
Faleke acknowledged Customs’ strong revenue performance but noted that the financial records submitted to the committee failed to clearly explain how the additional revenue above approved targets was generated.
He therefore directed the agency to provide a detailed monthly revenue breakdown to enable lawmakers properly evaluate its performance.
He said, “We are not going to applaud your efforts now because your account books are not balanced. We know that you want to be transparent, but you have not told us how the excess money you are reporting came about.
“I can see that in some months, you under-declare your revenue collection and in other months, you overshoot the collection. We want to know what is responsible for this. You have to provide these little details that will help us properly assess your performance.”
The committee’s Deputy Chairman, Saidu Abdullahi, argued that the Federal Government should increase Customs’ annual revenue target, saying the agency has repeatedly demonstrated that it can generate far more than projected.
“I believe that they can do more than the target we give to them.
“I think we are not pushing them enough. That is why they will always come up with excesses. In 2024, you were given a target of ₦5tn, and you generated ₦6.1tn. In 2025, you were given a target of about ₦6tn and you generated ₦7.2tn. I believe that if we push you enough, you can do better,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, explained that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers.
She stated that approvals are issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance in accordance with government policies and existing legislation, while Customs merely implements the directives.
Speaking on trade facilitation, Adeola encouraged state governments to invest in inland dry ports, describing them as essential infrastructure capable of reducing congestion at seaports and improving cargo movement.
“I will encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. That will have a lot of impact on our operations. Any cargo that is marked for such an inland port will not be delayed at the main port.
“The container will be transported directly to the inland port, where it will be examined. That will reduce the pressure at the nation’s ports and increase trade facilitation in the states,” she said.
She also assured lawmakers that most cargo scanners deployed at the nation’s ports were functioning, noting that only a few were currently undergoing maintenance.
Another committee member, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, called for greater accountability within the Customs Service, urging the agency to discipline officers whose negligence contributes to equipment failure or delays in cargo clearance.
Meanwhile, the committee also examined the operations of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the commission to submit a comprehensive register of all businesses and companies incorporated in Nigeria, including details of registration fees paid by each entity.
Lawmakers equally faulted the commission for failing to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission since 2019 as required by law.
The committee directed the CAC to immediately reconcile its financial records with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed lawmakers that the CAC currently owes the Federal Government about ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Magaji, disclosed that reconciliation between both agencies was already in progress.
He explained that both institutions had agreed on a repayment arrangement under which the outstanding liability would be settled through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.
