Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has said that about N188 billion might be lost in income during the six months when the importation of food products with no tariffs was permitted.
The Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, made this announcement on Tuesday during his keynote speech at the second Economic Confidential Lecture and Book Presentation in Abuja.
Adeniyi underlined the government’s resolve to putting food security ahead of short-term income, pointing out that the six-month tariff suspension is predicted to result in a revenue loss of over N188.37 billion.
He underlined that over the course of the next six months, the elimination of import levies and tariffs on these essential essentials will result in a considerable loss of potential revenue.
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The NCS estimates that between 2020 and 2023, the total import of these food items exceeded N3.8 trillion, generating over N191 billion in customs duties and more than N562 billion in various government levies.
Adeniyi assured that the NCS would ensure the smooth clearance of the specified food items, establish special corridors to expedite their processing, enhance the capacity of its personnel, and strengthen anti-smuggling efforts to prevent the entry of unauthorized food items.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, addressing the theme of the lecture, “Leveraging Effective Communication for Revenue Generation and Economic Development,” emphasized that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is implementing tough reforms to rescue Nigeria’s economy.
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The Vice-President’s remarks were delivered by Dr. Tope Fasua, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Office of the Vice President.
He outlined the government’s accomplishments, including increasing foreign reserves to over $37 billion and achieving a stable transmission of 4,500 megawatts of electricity.
Additionally, he mentioned that the Federal Government has provided conditional cash transfers to more than one million families to ease their economic hardships and has settled $7 billion in inherited foreign obligations, among other initiatives.
