Stakeholders Task Customs On VAT Exemption For LNG

Following the federal government exemption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) imports from Value Added Tax (VAT), stakeholders in the industry have asked the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Adewale Adeniyi, to expedite action on the implementation of the directive.

After an emergency meeting of the stakeholders in Abuja, the chairman, Alhaji Kabir Babawale, said Adeniyi should explain to Nigerians why the government’s directive had not been implemented.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday, Babawale said the LPG storage tanks of many of his members were lying idle at the ports with increasing demurrage on daily basis.

While thanking the presidency for its proactive decision on the exemption order, Babawale said the development would boost the gas economic policy of the government and ease the costs of domestic cooking gas in the country.

He said, “As investors, we are ready to commit more into the business, but before then, we are anxiously awaiting the implementation of this directive.”

LEADERSHIP recalls that in a move aimed at making cooking gas more affordable for Nigerians, the federal government had few days ago announced the exemption of the LPG imports from VAT and customs duty.

The federal government had decided to waive customs duty and VAT on importing the commodity and its accessories to crash the price of the LPG nationwide.

A report said the Ministry of Finance conveyed the decision in a letter dated November 28, 2023, and addressed to several officials, including the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the Comptroller General of Customs, and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).