Customs to soon implement duty exemption on food imports – CG

 

The Auditor General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, says the service will begin implementing the duty-free duty on imported foodstuffs in a week’s time.

Adeniyi made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during a joint press conference of heads of security agencies and intelligence chiefs, convened by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, at the Defence Headquarters.

He said that the implementation guidelines are still being developed at the Ministry of Finance, saying that implementation will begin as soon as they are ready.

Adeniyi called on Nigerians to be patient, adding that efforts were underway to meet the demands of the protesters, especially on rising food prices and the cost of living.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of import duties and taxes on essential food items to reduce inflation.

“I would like to let Nigerians know that a lot is being done to address these issues and improve the situation.

“This is happening through a combination of government fiscal policies and a series of strategic interventions by the government.

“The federal government’s commitment under the intervention is the distribution of strategic food commodities, released from the national grain reserves about a month ago.

“This has been issued to all states of the federation. We also recall that some of the food items consumed in Nigeria are imported.

“The best parts of the components are imported and the imports are not done directly from the shelves, it takes time for them to be completed.

“So one of the things the president did was to reduce costs, to counteract the effects of cost inflation by suspending for a period of time tariffs and taxes on imported food.

“We believe that when this measure is implemented, it will help lower the price of food products on the market.”

According to him, the Nigerian Customs is committed to the implementation of this particular tax policy enunciated by the government.

“But I would also like to remind Nigerians that we have to be very, very careful in the implementation of this and that is why the implementation guidelines are being meticulously crafted by the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

Adeniyi said there was a need to understand what implications the intervention would have for local markets, adding that the government was trying to take into account the interests of all stakeholders.

He added that most of these food products that benefited from duty exemptions and concessions were also grown by Nigerian farmers, hence the need to balance interests.

“There is a question of balancing the long-term interests of Nigerian farmers and stakeholders involved in the production of these items with the short-term interest of addressing food inflation.

“So the guidelines are being developed by the Ministry of Finance and I can assure you that by next week these guidelines will be ready and Nigerian Customs will start implementing these particular tax policies,” he added. (NAN)

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