The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that the value of Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) approvals reached ₦34 trillion in 2025, describing government-approved waivers as a major factor affecting the agency’s revenue generation.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made the disclosure during an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja.
According to Adeniyi, the Customs Service could have generated significantly more revenue if not for import duty exemptions and other fiscal policies approved by the Federal Government.
He explained that the duty exemption scheme, introduced in March 2020, recorded approvals worth ₦34 trillion in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent allocated to the duty-free importation of military hardware to support Nigeria’s security operations.
Other sectors benefiting from the waivers include Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment, medical supplies, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and food import intervention programmes.
Despite the impact on revenue, Adeniyi maintained that import duty waivers should be evaluated based on their broader economic and social benefits rather than revenue generation alone.
He, however, called for stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of the waivers deliver expected outcomes such as lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare services.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Finance expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of the heads of several government agencies invited to the hearing and warned that they must appear at the next sitting or face sanctions.
